The Paradoxers
by A.E. Story
Summary: [Sequel to Ancient Black]Manipulation of time may not have come without consequences, the rumour of an old enemy's return marks a sign of what their forays into other existences could cost them.
1. Right, Who Are you?

--Alright, well, seeing as I got such good responses from the first I have decided to try another. Now I don't just mindlessly read the reviews and move on, I heard what you've said; most prominently some thought the enemies were too easily killed. I won't give you my excuse (not saying I don't have one…cause I do) so in this one I will try to avoid building up on enemies and then letting you down by letting them die in one chapter, also you said the large group of bad guys "Outcasts" by name, looked like they were too easy as well. Admittedly I walked myself into a corner with that battle because I made it a million vs a few and the few had to win hence making it look easy. I will do my best to avoid such inconsistencies. I'd also like to mention in this lengthy author note that I won't be able to update as much as I had for the previous story due to school and whatnot but I will whenever possible, well, here we go, round 2.

**Chapter 1**

**Right, Who Are You?**

The group consisted of about ten people, all in grey cloaks and swords sheathed on their hips. They stood in a circle surrounding a single grey-cloaked man with a drawn sword. The man was yelling enthusiastically at the others, telling them about their cause and how righteous it was. How they were the only hope for the safety of the world, the cloaked men cheered in response, swords now drawn and raised in the air.

"We will ride onward toward the enemy!" the leader in the middle exclaimed grandly. "We will show the Shinra Company they cannot deprive us of the Planet!"

"They can take our Lifestream!" yelled a grey-cloaked member, everyone looked at him. "But they cannot take our _freedom_!"

Everyone looked at him silently.

"_Mel Gibson_, come on, you guys gotta…forget it."

"Who are you?" demanded the leader of the group.

The mystery man threw off the hood on his cloak, "A guy who's getting a little tired of extremist Cetra Factions that should just learn to stay dead."

"Who are you, stranger?" asked the leader readying his weapon, his henchmen followed suit.

The man threw off the cloak entirely now, he wore a simple black t-shirt and blue jeans that made him stand out starkly compared to the other men in the group.

"A man who needs no introduction," the strangely dressed man said.

"Right," muttered the leader, "who are you?"

The strangely dressed man looked insulted, "A man who needs no introduction…coulda swore I just said that. First Mel Gibson, now you're telling me you don't recognize the Grim Reaper?"

The leader seemed to take an even more defensive stance, "Samael."

"Yahtzee!" Sam yelled. "Someone get the man a cigar!"

"Don't have a cigar," said a female voice from behind the leader, "how about a boot in the face?"

The leader turned and saw a long dark-haired woman in black clothing.

"May I present Tifa," Sam said in a deep voice, "and your impending doom, sweetheart, try not to mess up his face too much."

"I'll see what I can do," Tifa muttered.

"Alright people, here's the ultimatum," Sam said walking calmly through the group of enemies. "You guys put down the sharp things and go back to HappyLand in the Lifestream, everyone goes home with the prize, you stay here, me and that pretty lady over there gotta kill ya, ball's in your court."

"Kill them," the leader said.

"Wrong answer."

The leader immediately went for Tifa and the group went for Sam.

Tifa ducked under a horizontal slash and popped up with an uppercut that sent the leader flying head over heels.

A jagged staff materialized in Sam's right hand from nowhere, the same staff he used to smash an approaching enemy over the head. Then Sam knocked another behind the knees knocking him down. As the enemy sat on both knees Sam tapped him once on each shoulder with the staff.

"I hereby dub thee," Sam smashed him across the face, "_unconscious_!"

"Sam, behind you!" Tifa yelled.

A sword jabbed straight through Sam's back and out his front, Tifa gasped.

"Now, honestly, was that _really_ necessary," Sam muttered grabbing the blade popping through his stomach and pushing it backward toward the sword holder.

The grey-cloaked man looked on in shock as Sam pushed the blade back out of his back and turned to face him.

"Because I think you could have been a little more considerate with the sword," Sam said, he jabbed the cloaked man in the chest with the sharp end of his staff.

The cloaked man dropped on the ground, dead. Sam stepped over the dead enemy and quickly kicked another enemy in the stomach doubling him over.

"This fighting stuff doesn't get any harder, does it?" asked Sam over to Tifa who was struggling just to dodge the man's attacks. "Maybe we should try singing while fighting, make it more challenging."

"Speak for yourself!" Tifa yelled and sidestepped a narrow miss.

"Alright, I'll just sing then," Sam said, "who's that guy that just won American Idol recently?"

"What?" asked Tifa barely avoiding another attack.

"Rhetorical question, dear, just keep doing what you're doing," Sam said nonchalantly smashing another enemy across the face with his staff. "Maybe some Kid Rock, hey, you could be Sheryl Crow, do a duet!"

"Who?" asked Tifa kneeing the leader in the stomach.

"_I put your picture away_!" Sam sang as he ducked and knocked two enemies off their feet. "No? Maybe Theory of a Deadman, I know a lot of their…" a grey-cloak smashed Sam from behind with the hilt of his sword, "…well that was just rude! I'm talking about a…" another smash from behind, "…_okay, ouch,_ alright, stop it! I'm serious, that's not nice!"

The grey cloak looked at him in confusion.

"Shiva, explain it to him," Sam said walking away, suddenly the sparkling blue Summon was standing in his place. "Thank you dear, much appreciated. You were always my favourite you know, but don't tell Tifa, she'll get jealous."

Shiva froze the last of his enemies. Sam continued to sing, but was cut off by the roar of a large winged creature floating in front of him, "…Bahamut, buddy…why aren't you in my staff? Tifa, why isn't Bahamut in my staff?"

"How the hell should I know?" she asked in irritation as she ducked under another relentless attack.

"What kind of woman are you? I thought you chicks knew everything," Sam muttered as the Summon reared its head, ready to attack. It was definitely aiming right at him.

Sam raised his staff, "Quick, _Bahamut, stat_!"

The blast would have hit him but Sam's own Bahamut intercepted the attack.

"Oh yeah, baby," Sam yelled at the enemy Summon, "how ya like them apples?"

As if in response the enemy Summon fired another shot that got past Sam's own Summon.

"Shit," Sam muttered and rolled out of the way, the explosion was near enough to send Sam flying off a few feet and when he got up his clothing was on fire. A normal person would have found this distressing, but Sam, being a bit abnormal, decided to walk back casually while being engulfed in flames.

"You know, this reminds me of a song by The Used I could sing," Sam said sounding a tad annoyed by being on fire. "Bahamut, could you please kill him now?"

Sam's Summon made short work of the enemy Summon and was recalled into the staff.

Sam sang as he danced over to Tifa and the leader, still on fire.

Tifa growled, "Would you quit dancing and help me here?"

"I was just about to do some classic rock," Sam said deciding to pat out the flames calmly. "I'd do Rush but I don't think I could get my voice that high, _closer to the hearrrrrtttt_. No…see, can't do it."

"_Sam!" _Tifa yelled.

"_Alright, _I'm coming, who died and made you Queen?"

Sam walked up behind the leader and stopped, "I demand you to stop attacking the hot brunette."

The leader ignored him.

"You've been warned," Sam muttered, then whistled, "Shiva, here girl, fetch the big dumb bad guy, go get 'im, sic 'em girl, sic 'em!"

The leader was a tall ice cube within seconds.

"I'd say that went well," Sam said smiling.

Tifa muttered something inaudible and shook her head.

Sam smacked the leader in the ice cube and he shattered into a million pieces.

"Well," Sam said, "that's done, let's go."

"How did we get stuck saving the world again?" asked Tifa walking with Sam away from the area where their enemies were now nothing more than small pieces of ice.

"We made this mess with the paradoxes, we have to clean it up," Sam replied. "You're the one who wanted the adventure, beautiful, I offered to take tall dark and shadowy, but that crazy ninja chick wouldn't let me."

"Cloud and Aeris couldn't come out of retirement for this?" asked Tifa.

"They're not entirely under the radar just yet, better they stay in the dark for now," Sam replied, "come on, stop pretending like you don't enjoy this stuff."

"I don't," Tifa replied.

"_Don't have a cigar, how about a boot in the face_? A person who's not enjoying themselves doesn't come up with a line of that cheesiness easily."

"I thought it was a good line," Tifa said indignantly.

"Yeah, for an episode of Spiderman or something, maybe the old Batman with Adam West," Sam said shaking his head slowly, "but this is an entirely new era. You need new material."

"Do I wanna ask who Adam West is?" asked Tifa.

"You wouldn't get it," Sam replied, "besides; Christian Bale did a much better job."

Tifa took a lesson from Vincent, she said nothing.

"Brighten up," Sam said slapping her playfully on the shoulder, "only one more stop. After that, if you're a really _really_ good little girl, I'll take you to get some ice cream!"

"Shut up," Tifa said walking ahead.

"What?" asked Sam. "You don't like ice cream? Now, I know for a fact all you _alive people_ like ice cream. Don't deny it! You got excited there for a second when Sam said _ice cream_!"


	2. Sorin

**Chapter 2**

**Sorin**

It had been two months, three weeks, and four days, since they had taken care of the Outcasts and the Ancient Black. Sam was keeping count. He knew every day past yesterday was a blessing. The fact no one had caught on to their little game was surprising. Sam was confident he could cover it up for a while, but someone had to notice. Someone had to interpret the paradox. Cloud and Aeris were gone from Centre Time, Sam and Tifa had gone existence-hopping, things weren't as they were supposed to be. The only reason they hadn't been completely discovered earlier was because of who it was that caught wind of the mess Sam had caused.

His name was Sorin Tether; he was an Elder Cetra whose job was to monitor the existences which Sam had so eloquently screwed up. Sorin also happened to be, conveniently enough, a good friend of Sam's. Sorin was, in fact, the reason Sam could manipulate time and space as he does. Sorin himself had taught Samael how to transfer himself, and others from existence to existence. As well as how to find those "loopholes" which Sam used so much. So, when Sorin caught wind of Sam's little game he wasn't surprised at all. Though Sorin had no qualms about burying the truth to keep Sam out of trouble, at least for a while, Sorin knew something would have to be done about the residual paradoxes that were left behind.

He offered Sam an ultimatum, at least that's what he called it…it was more like a friendly: do this and I bury the truth, don't do this and you're screwed whether I bury the truth or not. It was a fact, as long as these inconsistencies existed Sam's little ploy could be discovered by more Cetra than Sorin.

Sam had no problem with Sorin's logic. Seeing as they were both foremost experts in existence travel and paradoxes, it shouldn't be too much trouble. Sam agreed to take care of the paradoxes left behind and Sorin used his status with the Cetra to make this clean-up job look like a routine Cetra inspection. Not that Cetra routinely inspected existences, but if Sorin said it was being done, no one, even the higher-ups, were going to question him. So, if all went as planned, Sorin and Sam were out of trouble, the paradoxes would be gone, and everybody's happy. All Sam had to do was report back to Sorin every now and then to get a location on another paradox. Sam was good, but Sorin was the only guy who could map out entire existences, Sam could only go there.

Sorin resided in one of the many existences, a nondescript one, and one not so easy to come across. It was so he blended in, to the other Cetra their venture seemed legitimate but neither Sam nor Sorin actually wanted any other people coming in and taking a closer look at anything. Sam and Tifa appeared in this existence only minutes after taking care of their enemies in the grey cloaks.

"They do have pretty good ice cream here, I bet," Sam said.

Tifa looked at him, "If you don't shut up about the ice cream, I'm going to start taking off limbs."

Sam put his hands up in surrender, "Alright, you got it, no more talking from me…just gonna walk silently."

"Good," Tifa said, the two walked silently for about ten seconds.

"I get it," Sam said suddenly, "you're more of a Popsicle type girl, right?"

Tifa opened her mouth to yell the first profanity that came to mind; Sam cut her off, "We're here, no yelling now! We're all friends!"

They stood in front of the City of the Ancients; Tifa had a constant death stare on Sam as they entered.

After a while of walking Tifa looked around curiously, "Wait, wasn't he waiting in the Shinra Mansion last time?"

Sam shrugged, "Sorin likes to move around. He also particularly enjoys shape-shifting. He's one of those always moving type people, I guess."

"Shape-shifting," Tifa muttered.

Tifa had only met Sorin once, this was only the second time Sam had taken her on one of his anti-paradox missions for the man. The one time she did meet him she only saw his true form: a guy in a red shirt and blonde hair, usually sitting at his desk. There were usually a lot of red things around him, as red was his favourite colour, he always wore a red shirt. As far as Sam knew there was never a reason for it, he just liked red.

"He's somewhere around the altar," Sam said.

"How do you know that?" asked Tifa.

"All us dead dudes have a sort of telepathic thingy, like Aeris had with her guardian, you know?"

"Guess I shouldn't be surprised," Tifa muttered.

"Nothing should surprise you anymore."

Just then, Sephiroth appeared in front of them.

Tifa was, again, surprised. She immediately jumped back into a defensive stance as the long, silver-haired man stood smiling at them.

"Gotcha!" Sephiroth said laughing. "Man, do I wish I had a mirror, you should've seen the look on your face!"

Tifa looked at Sephiroth curiously, for many logical reasons this couldn't actually be Sephiroth…it wasn't.

"Sorin, what are you, six years old?" asked Sam.

"Five or four if I can help it," Sorin replied, "you think this was bad, yesterday I turned into Ruby Weapon. _Really_ scared the crap out of a few guys at the Golden Saucer. They'll be trying to figure that one out for years!"

Tifa relaxed after realizing Sephiroth was, in fact, Sorin, "I can see why you two get along."

Sam smiled and suddenly Cloud appeared standing in Sam's spot, "Prepare yourself my nemesis!"

Sorin laughed and drew a perfect replica of the Masamune Blade, he said his next line with no emotion whatsoever, "Har-har, I'm back from the dead again, yadda-yadda, evil stuff, evil stuff…_I was created in a tube!!!!_ Yadda-yadda, you will never defeat me, et cetera…"

Cloud/Sam drew his own weapon, "I will defeat you because I'm cooler than you are…and if I lose my weapon I can stab you with my hair."

"Okay, you win," Sorin/Sephiroth said shrugging and putting away his sword.

Sam turned back into himself, "And that is the re-enactment of the entire Final Fantasy VII franchise."

Tifa opened her mouth to say something.

"No, Tifa," Sorin/Sephiroth said, "you don't want to know what Final Fantasy VII is, it'd just confuse you."

She said nothing.

"Down to business?" asked Sam.

Sephiroth/Sorin gestured for them to follow him, they ended up at the altar where Sorin's current form stabbed Aeris. Instead of simply an altar, however, there was a large desk with a mess of stuff on it. Sorin's workspace, it went with him wherever he went.

"You set up your desk here?" asked Tifa. "It barely fits on the altar."

"My work follows me everywhere, my dear," Sorin/Sephiroth replied, "and though I'm a young man in the sense of if I were alive, which I'm not, I have many years of such work behind me. It's become common knowledge that if I put it off for even one day, entire existences begin their trip to hell in hand baskets."

"Not comfy hand baskets either," Sam said, "shit ones you get at Price Choppers you know?"

Tifa looked at them blankly.

"Right well," Sorin/Sephiroth said, "let's get this next development on the big map and see where your next stop is."

They jumped across to the altar and stood at the desk. Sorin/Sephiroth opened up a black-covered book and found a page in the front, a table of contents of sorts, this he used to reference his way to the page he was looking for. He used a pencil to mark something off and then showed the page to Sam.

"Sorin, man, that's a fringe existence," Sam complained, "they have paradoxes al the time, it's likely I didn't even _cause_ that one!"

"It's a priority, I'm afraid," Sephiroth/Sorin said shrugging, "I know fringe worlds can be a little strange, but it's nothing you can't handle."

"I'm bringing more guys with me then, those places can get real weird," Sam said.

"Take as many as you like, it's probably just going to be a book or something," Sorin/Sephiroth replied dismissively.

Sam shook his head, "Alright, we'll be back later."

"Good luck," Sorin/Sephiroth said.

Tifa and Sam left the city, she looked at him curiously, "What does he mean _it'll probably be a book or something_?"

"Fringe existences are existences that sort of exist just on the edge of existence," Sam said, "say that ten times fast. Anyways, these existences don't follow any patterns and usually take the form of some work of fiction from any existence, usually a book or a movie."

"Oh," Tifa said.

"You don't have to tag along on this one, if it's getting too weird for your sensibilities," Sam offered.

"It is getting kind of weird," she said.

"Confuses me sometimes, I'll take someone else on this one," Sam said.

"I said it was weird, I didn't say I didn't want to go," Tifa said grinning.

"You alive people are all so cryptic, you couldn't just say: okay, I'll go?" asked Sam.

"Just wanted to see how disappointed you'd be if I said I didn't wanna go," Tifa replied.

"I'd survive the rejection," Sam said pretending to start crying, "…somehow…"

"You said you wanted to bring more people on this one, right?" asked Tifa.

"If the old ball and chain lets him, I wanna get tall dark and shadowy and Cid, if he's interested," Sam said.

"Why them in particular?" asked Tifa.

"I want an airship with me on this one," Sam looked at Tifa, "and tall dark and shadowy is so creepy he might just scare off all the enemies."

"Chaos?" asked Tifa.

"Well, that helps too; I was focusing more on his evilness!"

Tifa shook her head.

"It's gonna take me a minute to get us into Centre Time again, while I'm doing that, why don't you go get us some ice cream?" asked Sam.

Tifa shook her head, "If someone else doesn't kill you soon, I will."


	3. Bandits

**Chapter 3**

**Bandits**

Vincent Valentine looked through the scope on his gun, Cerberus. The crosshairs fell on a group of people in dark clothing. This group wasn't in a meeting, nor did they appear to know each other at all. They all had one thing in common, however. All were hiding on either side of the roadway that ran through the area. The new highway that had been built to run right through to Edge came with a new set of problems. They called themselves Bandits. They were basically groups of criminals who got together in groups and ambushed passing vehicles on the road, mostly supply trucks. It wasn't an organized crime by any means; it was, in most cases, just random acts of theft. Due to the erratic behaviour of the Bandits, and lack of a pattern, Shinra soldiers were forced to put patrols on the highway. The blue-clad soldiers did their job, but not nearly well enough to keep the highways entirely clear of these Bandits.

One guess, who did they ask for help when it got out of hand?

Since the world seemed to be out of trouble presently, at least for a while, Vincent and his allies decided to see what they could do about this new threat. These Bandits were particularly small-time compared to what they were used to. These people had no chance of destroying the world or breaking down any economies by taking out a few supply trucks. They were a nuisance.

Not that Vincent had anything better to do, he never did.

"You see them, Vince?" asked Cid through Vincent's cell pone.

"I count ten," Vincent replied continuing to look through the scope.

"How many of them can you get from where you are?"

"All of them," Vincent said.

"Ah, well, leave some fun for us. Fire off some shots; get 'em nervous," Cid said.

"Alright," Vincent said and put his cell away.

He pulled some items from somewhere inside his crimson cloak. He laid the items on the ground in front of him and began connecting them at different places on Cerberus. When he was done, Cerberus had changed from a triple-barreled revolver to a long sniper rifle. Vincent hadn't gone to the trouble of customizing Cerberus for a while, not since Omega Weapon. He'd started again, just recently. Given, it was more convenient than just his revolver; he had no real reason for it. He probably could have hit a few of the Bandits from his position without the assistance of a proper sniper rifle anyways.

Vincent leveled the rifle and aimed through the scope again. He fired and hit one of the closer Bandits in the leg dropping him on the ground. Vincent heard one of them yell something that sounded like "_sniper!"_ but he couldn't be sure from his distance. The rest of Vincent's shots hit no one, but effectively sent the Bandits into a confused frenzy. The rifle bullets shot off every few seconds and hit the ground near the Bandits. After about three of these shots every one of the dark-clad men were running for their lives, trying to get away from the bullets. They ran right into Cid and the others.

As soon as Cid started knocking Bandits off their feet with his spear, Red XIII and Yuffie jumped into the fray. It wasn't anything near a fair battle.

It was over before it began.

Vincent disassembled his rifle and holstered Cerberus when it was back in its original form. He looked down from the ridge he stood on and watched the others round up the beaten and wounded Bandits.

"Challenging wouldn't quite be the adjective I'd give that one," Sam said suddenly standing a little behind Vincent.

Vincent closed his eyes and shook his head a little, "What did I say about appearing behind me?"

"Sorry, shadow-man," Sam said stepping up beside him, "just where I end up all the time."

"Where's Tifa?" asked Vincent.

"I had her magically appear near the others, hoping I could catch you alone," Sam replied.

"Why's that?"

"I need you to come with me on my next little errand."

"You wanted to catch me alone for that?"

"By alone, I mean away from Yuffie."

"Ah."

"I realize you two have this whole, boyfriend girlfriend thing now," Sam said putting a hand on Vincent's shoulder, "but you know the old saying: _bros before hoes,_ right?"

Vincent looked for a moment at Sam's hand; Sam took the hint and removed his hand.

"That's not a saying here," Vincent said after a moment.

"It's from a TV show," Sam said, "I know you don't get good stuff like that here. If you ever spend any amount of time in another existence try watching a show called _'House'_ I think it's Tuesday at 8 o clock, depending on where you are at the time. It's about this really cool badass doctor with a cane that…"

"Sam," Vincent cut him off.

"Right, sorry, anyways," Sam continued, "I realize you and Yuffie got a good thing going here, but I might need some serious back up on this one."

"When do we leave?" asked Vincent.

"Now that kind of attitude is just asking to get you dumped," Sam said.

"When do we leave, Sam?"

"ASAP," he replied.

"Let me know when you're ready," Vincent said and calmly hopped off the ridge and fell toward the ground.

Sam walked up to the edge and looked to where Vincent landed in a crouch a few meters down.

"Showoff," Sam muttered, "oh, look at me, I can jump off cliffs."

Sam jumped off the ridge and landed in the same spot Vincent had a few moments earlier, "Yeah, that's right, Sam got skillz too."

Sam and Vincent caught up with the others, Tifa had been reunited with them a few minutes prior and they were still getting a recounting of her adventures with Sam.

"Hey, Sammy-boy," Cid said smiling, "Wymond wanted me to give you a message when you got back."

"What's up?" asked Sam.

"I'm not sure exactly what he meant, but he said to tell you he went to _ask those who can give him answers,_ said something about a rumour he heard. Seemed a little bit freaked out, you know anything?"

Sam shook his head, "Not about the rumours, but I know who those are who can give him answers."

"Is he always so secretive?" asked Yuffie.

"That's sort of a job requirement for a Cetra," Sam replied. "Anyways, Cid, unless you're preoccupied with these dudes here, I need you to take me somewhere with your ship."

Cid shrugged, lighting up a cigarette, "Where you wanna go?"

"Tifa, Vincent and I need to check out another hot spot for paradoxes and I want as much going for me as possible," Sam replied.

"Shera's at your disposal, Sammy."

"Got that cloaking device working on it yet?" asked Sam.

"Chuck just finished it up, tested it yesterday," Cid replied, "works like a charm."

"Good," Sam said, "how soon can you get her in the air?"

"Right now," Cid said gesturing off in the distance, "she's sittin' right there."

Sam looked, he didn't see anything, it took him a second to realize it must be cloaked, "Does work pretty well, eh?"

"I'll get 'er goin'," Cid said and looked to the others, "you guys got these Bandits?"

The others nodded.

"Shadowy," Sam said to Vincent, "say goodbye to your better half and get on. Tifa, we need to talk."

Tifa nodded and the two were on the Shera as soon as Cid had it uncloaked.

§

Since Cid had finished working on the Shera, Chuck was left in command of the Highwind. He was still perfecting the Dragon Skin, but had put it off to finish the cloaking device for the Shera. Cid would have had the Shera for fighting the Outcasts, but it was still in the process of being worked on and wasn't entirely operational.

Vincent got on board and the Shera was in the air.

"Once I take us to where we're going, I'm not quite sure as to what we'll be up against," Sam warned.

"No worries, the Shera's got more firepower than the Highwind, now," Cid assured.

Sam gestured for Tifa to follow him, "I'll get us there in a minute."

He and Tifa stood off to the side of the Bridge.

"Did Wymond say anything to you?" asked Sam.

Tifa shook her head, "No, why?"

"It's just strange of him to disappear like that," Sam replied, "I thought maybe he might have given you a message."

"Why me?" asked Tifa.

"Look," Sam said in a whisper, "everything bad that happens is ultimately because of Cloud and Aeris, so if Wymond heard something about Cloud, who would you give the message to?"

Tifa said nothing, but understood his logic.

"Alright, it just worries me, Wymond doesn't pull disappearing acts like this a lot, I know the guy, he's not like this," Sam said worriedly.

Tifa had never seen genuine worry on Sam's face before, this was the first time. It was amazing how much it worried her just seeing how worried he was.

"I might be overreacting, let's just focus on the paradox," Sam said dismissively, "Cid, my lung-cancer poster-child friend, hang on to something. We're about to take a trip through time and space."

"I hate it when he does this," Cid muttered and grabbed something to steady himself.

Vincent grabbed the back of a chair, "I hate it when he does a lot of things."


	4. Capture the Flag

**Chapter 4**

**Capture the Flag**

Everyone on the bridge was thrown back, as if the entire ship had been shot out of a cannon. The Shera did the job of bringing itself to a halt on its own within a few seconds. Though, not before everyone was thrown swiftly to the ground.

Vincent and Cid were both on their backs. Somehow the chair Vincent was hanging on to had come off the ground entirely. Even if the chair had stayed connected, there was no way he could have kept his footing.

Sam walked casually to the front of the bridge as Tifa, Cid and Vincent attempted to pick themselves up off the floor.

"Come on guys, no lyin' around, we got places to go," Sam said walking past.

"Too bad he can't die," Cid muttered, and headed off to steer the ship.

"What exactly are we looking for here?" asked Vincent stepping up beside Sam, who was looking through the front viewing area out over the scenery below.

"This isn't right," Sam said quietly.

Vincent looked at him curiously.

"It just looks like normal," Sam said looking at Vincent, "Edge is only a few miles from here, this isn't right."

"Why not?" asked Vincent.

"This is a fringe existence, these ones don't usually take the form of your world," Sam explained, "they usually model after some kind of fiction, an imaginary place, like a movie or a story. The place you come from has too much substance; fringe existences don't have the capacity to imitate it. This is wrong."

"Are you sure we're in the right place?"

"Positive, I didn't screw up the destination; the destination's just screwed up."

"Could it be the paradox?" asked Tifa.

"Paradoxes don't generally make things _better_," Sam replied. "Paradoxes mess things up. If a paradox did this, it actually improved the place."

"It's possible though, ain't it?" asked Cid.

"I suppose," Sam replied, "highly unlikely, however. We Cetra have a name for this kind of thing."

"What's that?" asked Tifa.

"Sephiroth," Sam muttered, then looked off to the side.

"Sephiroth?" asked Vincent.

"The Cetra word for bad news?" asked Cid.

Sam pointed at Cid, "You got it, my friend, really bad news."

"I suppose that makes sense," Vincent shrugged.

"This is straight up Sephiroth," Sam said. "It's almost like a paradox within a paradox. The paradox itself affects the existence, but a paradox within the paradox allows for the paradox to have different qualities."

Cid tried to think about what Sam said for a moment, but stopped almost immediately.

"The kind of thing that doesn't occur naturally?" asked Vincent.

Sam smiled, "You guys are really starting to get this time travel stuff. That's exactly what I was thinking. Question is, mister tall dark and intelligent, why would someone do that?"

"They knew someone would come to check it out," Tifa guessed.

"You're thinkin' a trap?" asked Cid.

"Maybe," Sam muttered. "Cid, fly us around, random pattern. Let's see what we can see."

Cid nodded, and the Shera shot forward. Cid maneuvered the ship into a few turns every now and then, just to adjust their course. He did a back and forth pattern to try and cover as much area as possible. Everyone's eyes were fully alert, looking for any sign of trouble.

"There's one constant," Sam said, suddenly, "this is a paradox, weird or not, a paradox, which means, even though it's strange, it has to follow the rules, so this place has to have some kind of connection to a book or a movie, something fictional."

"A movie from which existence?" asked Vincent.

Sam nodded, "That's the question, I know them all so that shouldn't be a problem, it just depends on what sort of media the paradox is imitating."

"Whoa, jumpin'…what the hell was that?" asked Cid looking around frantically.

"What is it?" asked Vincent.

"Somethin' just flew over us, movin' real fast!" Cid said throwing Shera into evasive maneuvers.

"I didn't see anything," Tifa said looking around.

"It was a small thing, sorta purple coloured," Cid said.

"Purple," Sam muttered, "purple."

"You know what it is?" asked Vincent.

"Maybe," Sam muttered, "Cid, see if you can find it again."

"Workin' on it!" Cid replied throwing the Shera in different directions.

Suddenly, the ship rocked slightly.

"Somethin' just hit us, port side!" Cid growled. "There, look, straight ahead!"

The purple vehicle was flying away from them. It was a strange shape. It was sort of like a malformed oval in the middle, almost more like a peanut of sorts. And appeared to have no wings, there were two things that appeared to be bars of some kind shooting out the sides, the bars met at a point creating an almost triangular shape though they didn't look much like any kind of useful wing. The thing was sure flying fast. It did a flip in the air and was coming back.

"Where have I seen that before," Sam muttered, "purple flying thing…purple."

"Shouldn't we be shooting at it?" asked Tifa.

"Oh…right," Sam said nodding, "yeah sure, blow it away."

"Gladly," Cid muttered and fired one of the Shera's guns. Bullets flew out of a gun battery somewhere on the ship and the purple aircraft was blown out of the sky. What was left of the hull crashed to the ground.

"Cid, put us close to the ground, I wanna check that thing out," Sam said, "Vincent, you come with me."

Cid put the Shera low over the crash site and Sam and Vincent jumped off the outdoor platform to the ground. They walked over to the burning wreckage.

Sam looked around; it did appear to be an exact replica of Vincent's world. That fact still left him uneasy.

"There's someone inside," Vincent said putting a hand over his holstered weapon.

Sam walked over to where Vincent stood. There was indeed someone inside the wreckage.

It all came together at once.

"Of course," Sam said, "how could I forget?"

"Forget what?" asked Vincent.

"The purple ship, I knew it from somewhere," Sam said, "knew I should've stuck with Xbox."

"X-what?" asked Vincent.

"It's a Banshee," Sam said, matter-of-factly, "Covenant attack craft."

Vincent looked at him blankly.

"Okay look, the Covenant are bad alien dudes trying to destroy humans," Sam explained.

Vincent was still blank.

"That dude in there," Sam said, gesturing to the person in the Banshee who sported red armour and a reflective visor on his helmet, "is a Spartan."

Still blank.

"Spartans are the dudes that were made to destroy the…"

"Okay, hold it," Vincent said, cutting him off abruptly. "What movie is this, then?"

"This is one I hadn't expected, it's a video game," Sam replied.

"Okay, I know what that is," Vincent said, "what's the goal of this video game?"

"Not feed the Kupo Nuts to the Mog, if you know what I mean," Sam said smiling. "God that game blows, but you have to play it to move on in the Gold…"

"Could we stay on topic here?" asked Vincent cutting him off again.

"Sorry, well, by the looks of things, this must be the online aspect of the game," Sam guessed, "as Spartan-117 wears green armour, and he obviously can't die…unless you play on Legendary, you can get your ass totally…"

"Sam," Vincent growled.

"Right, sorry, online, so the idea is you go on this game with people all over the world, get on a team and try to kill each other. Sometimes they play capture the flag which is…"

Vincent only gave him a warning glance this time.

"Sorry, yeah, that's the idea," Sam finished.

"So there are more of these people?" asked Vincent.

"Yeah, somewhere," Sam said. "It's a strange cross, putting characters from one video game into the setting of another."

"The paradox…" Vincent paused, "wait, what other video game?"

"Huh?" asked Sam.

"You said characters from one video game, being the one with these Covenant, into the setting of another. The setting is where I come from."

"Oh…" Sam said looking around, "uh…well…Vincent that's really hard to explain right now."

"Are you suggesting I'm in a video game?"

"Well…no, well, yeah, but aren't we _all_? Don't we all just feel like we're being used by others all the time? It's really like a metaphor for…"

Vincent waved him off, "I really don't want to know."

"That's the safest way," Sam agreed.

Vincent shook his head and walked back to the Shera.

"Dodged a bullet there," Sam muttered.

"_Sam,_" yelled the voice of Tifa from the Shera, "_something's going on!_"

Sam headed back for the Shera and got on.

"What's up?" asked Sam.

"Cid saw explosions up ahead, moving away from us," Tifa said.

Sam nodded, "That must be them."

_Capture the FLAG!_

Tifa jumped and looked around, "Did you hear that?"

Sam looked up in the sky and back to Tifa, "Hear what?"

"Someone just said something," Vincent said looking around.

"You guys are crazy," Sam said shaking his head.

"I heard someone say something," Tifa said walking around, looking for the source of the voice.

Sam laughed quietly and walked into the Shera, "Now, I can tell this is gonna be fun."

They entered the bridge again and Cid already had the Shera headed off toward where he spotted the explosions.

"Did you guys hear something?" asked Cid, looking around.

"You heard it, too?" asked Tifa.

Sam smiled, "You guys are losing it."

"No, I heard it; some guy said something like _capture the flag_," Tifa said, "what does that mean?"

Sam laughed quietly again and turned to look out toward their destination. The others continued to try and figure out the voice. Sam decided he'd let them try and figure it out for a while before he told them.

The Shera arrived in seconds; the ground below them was covered in craters and wreckage. No people.

"Sure was some kinda battle here," Cid muttered.

Dark smoke rose from various pieces of destroyed metal and burnt earth.

"Wait, capture the flag," Vincent said. "Back when you were explaining the game, Sam, you said capture the flag."

"Oh, _now_ you wanna hear what I have to say about capture the flag!" Sam said in a singsong voice. "Strange how you only listen to me when it suits you."

"What is capture the flag, Sam?" asked Tifa.

"The idea is for one team to capture the other team's flag, by the looks of this game, red vs. blue," Sam said.

"What's the difference between red and blue?" asked Tifa.

"Nothing, just different people, it only separates teams," Sam explained.

"So blue tries to get red's flag," Vincent said.

"Right," Sam said nodding.

"And that voice we heard?" asked Tifa.

"That's just the announcer for the game," Sam said.

"Wait, game?" asked Cid.

Sam shook his head, "It's all very complicated. Look, we're in a video game right now, not one you know of, but I do, so trust me here, alright?"

"What do we do?" asked Tifa.

"I don't know," Sam said, "this paradox is strange, it'll take me some time to figure it out."

"Maybe the people here know something," Vincent suggested.

"I doubt it," Sam said, "they're probably more clueless than we are."

"What's our next move?" asked Vincent.

"Cid, find the people who were here, follow any explosions, gunshots, anything like that," Sam said, Cid nodded. "Now there are just a few things you gotta know about these people. Generally, there are a few constants. There's always at least one with a really high-pitched, whiny, voice. It's tempting to kill him, try not to, try not to kill anybody at this point."

"It's tempting to kill you and we do alright with restraint there," Vincent said.

Sam smiled, "Thank you for your input tall dark and shadowy, may I continue?"

Vincent nodded.

"Usually, there's a guy that swears a lot, sometimes there's a lot more than one. Some you can't understand at all so don't try. Others use a form of talking that I don't think any of you will really be able to grasp, so I'll handle that."

"A different language?" asked Vincent.

"Well, sort of," Sam said, "just let me handle it."

"Are these people gonna be friendly or what?" asked Cid.

"I doubt it, their job here is to kill people," Sam grinned. "W0n'+ LiKE J00 Cau53 yOu'R3 n00bZorz."

Everyone looked at him blankly.

"Most of that is spelled with numbers instead of letters," Sam said, "it's called 1337, or L33t, that's spelled with two 3's in the middle, too."

They continued to stare.

"Like I said, leave the talking to me."


	5. GamePlay May Change

-alright, as a note, I don't own an X-box…more of a PS2 man myself…however I have played Halo 2 online, I suck at it, horribly…but I digress…my point here is, if I mess up a fact about Halo online and the Microsoft Junkies start swarming me with respect issues I will ignore you, chalk it up to my inexperience. As well, I do realize most people…well…ALL people…don't actually speak in their headsets in L33t speak, not that I've heard anyways; this is called "stereotyping" I do that a lot.

**Chapter 5**

**Game-Play May Change**

Sam and Tifa looked down on the scene below, wreckage lay everywhere. This was a similar scene to the numerous, identical, ones they had passed before. They were always one step behind the battles.

"By the looks of things red is winning," Sam commented.

"Blue's not far behind," Tifa said.

"No way," Sam said shaking his head, "8LUe'5 g3+TIN9 0WNzORED."

"What?" asked Tifa.

"Blue's getting its ass kicked," Sam said, "you know, it might be worth your while if I taught you some L33t."

"I don't think I'd be able to do it," Tifa said shaking her head.

"Well, there's only a few major words you gotta know, the other things are just hard to get because they appear in numbers instead of letters," Sam said, "try this one out: J00 JU5t GOt PWN3d no0b."

She stared at him blankly; Sam was seeing that stare a lot lately.

"Alright, break it down first, what does J00 rhyme with?" asked Sam. "Don't say people from Israel."

"Huh?" asked Tifa.

"Jew," Sam muttered, "nevermind."

Tifa shook her head, "I guess J00 would be YOU?"

"Right, now you can make out the other two," Sam said.

"JUST and GOT," Tifa said.

"Now the last two words, first: PWN3d," Sam explained, "PWN3d is another way of saying OWNED, or 0WNzORED, which all mean you basically just got beat, someone beat you. Not to be confused with MERKED which also means to be beaten, but to a higher degree."

Blank stare.

"Yo, son, you jus' got MERKED straight up…that's how you use that," Sam said. "Anyways, that's PWN3d, the last word was no0b. That means new or inexperienced, but in an insulting way. You can basically think of someone calling you a no0b as someone calling you stupid, got it?"

"So, wait," Tifa said, "all that means: you just got your ass kicked you idiot?"

"That's the idea, yes," Sam replied.

"Why can't they just say that?" asked Tifa.

"Well, that would make too much sense, wouldn't it?" said Sam, rhetorically.

"People, I got somethin'!" Cid yelled.

"Lay it on me, brotha'," Sam said.

"Two more of those Banshee things, flying in the distance," Cid said, "not sure if the bastards see us yet."

"Word up to that, dawg," Sam muttered, "where there's Banshees there's a lot of kids with too much time on their hands, get us over there."

"Workin' on it," Cid said.

"I guess you'd say it's almost time to 0wNZ0R some n00Bz?" asked Vincent, deadpan.

Sam looked at him for a second and laughed.

"What?" asked Vincent.

"Don't use L33t, man," Sam said between laughs, "it just doesn't work with the whole tall dark and shadowy thing."

Vincent shrugged.

"Purple things're comin' this way," Cid warned.

"Take 'em out," Sam said.

"0wNZ0R-ing some NOObz, now," Cid said firing the Shera's weapons.

"See, now, oddly enough, it sounds cool when he says it," Sam commented.

The Banshees went down in seconds; the small craft didn't stand a chance against Cid's superior airship.

"There are people fighting down there, red and blue," Tifa said pointing.

Indeed, below there were a group of people, constantly diving for cover and shooting at each other. A few tossed grenades and explosions ensued.

"Oh man, that red guy is screwed," Sam muttered.

"Why?" asked Tifa.

Sam pointed to a spot, "Right there, the blue guy has a sniper rifle."

As if on cue, the blue member fired and the red he was aiming at was hit square in the head. He flew head over heels and was dead on the ground in seconds.

"PWN3d," Tifa said.

Sam smiled, "There you go."

"What should we do?" asked Vincent.

"My humble opinion?" asked Sam. "Pick a side."

"Pick a side?" asked Tifa.

"These people have to be the key to the paradox in some way, so we have to pick a side, join in, see what happens," Sam explained.

"Which side?" asked Vincent.

"Red's 0WN1Ng in this game, I say we go with the red."

"How soon can you figure out how to fix the paradox?" asked Tifa.

"I don't know yet, I'll know soon though," Sam replied.

"How do we explain what we look like?" asked Vincent.

"One word, my friend," Sam said grinning, "H4X0R."

"Uh?" asked Tifa.

"Hackers," Sam clarified, "we can say these are game Mods we downloaded from the Internet. Don't ask what that is, just go with it."

Vincent shrugged, at this point he wasn't about to question Sam on anything.

"What we do need is appropriate weaponry," Sam said, "that revolver of yours won't do. It's farfetched enough we got Mods that completely change what we look like."

Vincent looked at his gun, "What should I do with it then?"

"Pull it out, I'll show you, you can have a primary and secondary weapon," Sam said, Vincent drew his gun. "You wanna pistol, sniper rifle, machine gun, rocket launcher, or shotgun? I recommend shotgun as primary."

"Shotgun and pistol will do," Vincent said.

Sam snapped his fingers, "Presto!"

Vincent looked at what was once Cerberus, it was now a shotgun. In his holster was a strange looking pistol.

"These are standard weapons for the game, we'll fit in a little better," Sam said.

"Can't you just make us look like them?" asked Tifa.

"I'm afraid to do that," Sam said, "if we create more red players than there should be it might make the paradox worse."

"Want me to stay on the ship?" asked Cid.

Sam nodded, "I'll contact you through the comm. System if I need to. Tifa will stay here with you as well."

"Why?" asked Tifa.

"You don't use guns, dear, as good as you are with those hands of yours, you can't win a battle here without a gun," Sam said, "plus little girls shouldn't be in violent video games."

Tifa glared at him, "I might just try using one to kill you."

"Has anyone ever told you you're cute when you're acting all threatening?" asked Sam.

"No," she replied.

"Well, I just did, there's one," Sam said, suddenly a standard issue Halo 2 sniper rifle appeared in his hands and there was a sub machine gun (or just SMG as Sam liked to call them for short) strapped to his right hip. "Alright, shadowy, once we get into the fray you can pretty much throw and pick up any weapons you want. If it comes to it use your hands, the idea is to kill everyone at all costs without dying yourself. We two have a particular advantage."

"Which is?" asked Vincent.

"We're both extremely awesome," Sam said grinning, "let's go."

Sam and Vincent headed to the outdoor platform and on to the ground, the Shera pulled to a higher altitude.

"You might wanna play strong silent type as much as possible, let me talk," Sam suggested.

Vincent had no problem with that.

"The basics of this whole thing are, mostly, these dudes here have this special armour that has a sort of shield around it. You have to break through this shield before you can kill them. Different powered weapons will break through the shield faster or slower. The shields also recharge if you wait too long after destroying them. There's also another reason I choose for just the two of us to go," Sam said, "neither of us can really die."

Vincent hadn't considered that, true as it was.

"When these people die they come back to life, or _respawn_, at a certain point in the area. If we do happen to get killed we can fall down and pretend to be dead for a few seconds and then fake a respawn. Get the idea?"

"Like an automatic Phoenix Down," Vincent said.

"You got it," Sam replied, nodding. "They're probably gonna have a leader. Usually, it's all pretty every man for himself, but if they've been going long enough they may have a leader, an alpha-male of sorts you could say."

"What if one of them talks to me?" asked Vincent.

"Respond normally, if you don't understand, just say nothing. They might think you're an ass, but they've probably dealt with worse people. We'll try and make sure I'm around to do the conversation part. You just help me kill people."

Vincent nodded.

"I don't see you having much trouble being the silent shadowy type anyways, you don't even need to act," Sam said shrugging.

They came over a small hill and found themselves just on the outskirts of the battle. The heat wave of an exploding grenade washed over them. The shrapnel and flame were, however, nowhere near them.

It appeared the red team was losing this battle, but overall the red team was dominant, for now. Sam knew this would be a perfect time to integrate themselves into the game, by getting the win for the red team.

"Shoot everything that's blue," Sam said.

Vincent jumped off the small hill and shot into the battle. In contrast to Vincent, Sam walked forward casually and leveled his sniper rifle. His was more effective from afar. The shotgun, especially in Vincent's hands, would be devastating at close range.

Sam set the sights, unconventional compared to most generic sniper scopes, over a blue member moving at a jog across the battlefield. He was reloading a battle rifle and heading straight for two red members who didn't see him coming.

"Not today, my friend," Sam muttered and carefully led the sight just in front of the running blue team member. Sam fired, the streak of the bullet shot directly into the blue member's head and sent him flying off his feet and landing awkwardly on the ground, dead.

Lower to the ground, Vincent landed and immediately spun to aim his shotgun behind him. No one there, he turned a 360 and saw that most of the people to his left and right were blue. The red numbers were diminishing greatly. Vincent headed immediately toward where two reds were taking cover behind a boulder. Firing on them constantly were three blues, one with what appeared to be a sniper rifle. Vincent looked up and to his right; Sam was heading slowly down the small hill.

Sam aimed again and fired, taking out another blue that had just finished off another red with a shotgun. He noticed the reds being bombarded by three blues. Vincent wasn't far from them, heading their way. Sam picked up the pace a little.

Vincent drew the pistol and began firing as he ran. The thing didn't have nearly as much power as he was used to, but he'd used much weaker pistols in the past as well. His bullets impacted every one of the blue team members, but didn't really seem to affect them. Some kind of strange yellowish energy seemed to appear every time Vincent hit them. The shields, he remembered what Sam told him about shields and emptied the pistol into just one blue instead of spreading it out to all three. He wasn't sure if he'd knocked out the shield, but it didn't matter. Sam's rifle reported and the blue Vincent had just finished shooting fell dead. The reds were looking around frantically, trying to figure out where all the new shots were coming from. Neither blue nor red saw Vincent sail through the air and land in front of the blues. His shotgun fired for the first time, Vincent pumped it and fired again. The shield had been rendered useless on the first shot, the second blew Vincent's enemy off his feet. The other blue, the one with the sniper rifle, tried to pull a pistol and turn on him, but Vincent swung his shotgun, using the barrel as a battering ram. The impact seemed to overload the shields. Vincent tossed the shotgun in the air and grabbed it by the barrel. He then smashed the last remaining blue across the face with the butt of the gun. The sheer force of the attack must have killed him because he didn't get back up.

"Never got that," Sam said looking at the dead blues.

"Got what?" asked Vincent.

"Why melee attacks always seemed more effective than actual guns," Sam said. "Well, looks like this one belongs to red."

_Flag returned. _

Vincent looked around for the voice again.

"You'll get used to it," Sam assured.

"When d1D J00 PeOPL3 j0in th3 GmE?" asked a voice from behind them, it was, almost as Sam expected, very high pitched and annoying.

"wE N0T1C3d J00 were G3TT1N9 0wnZOrED so we D3c1D3d t0 J01n In 4ND hELp," Sam said.

Vincent didn't even bother trying to understand what the hell they were talking about.

"wh3rE'D j00 H4X0Rs 93+ th0s3 m0D$?" asked the high pitched red.

"These?" asked Sam, indicating their appearance. "Off the internet."

"D00d ThAt FF7 5KiN 0wNZ," said the high pitched red.

"Rossel," said another red, coming up behind him, "stop talking like that, you sound like a fool."

"A fellow non-L33t-er," Sam said.

"You are?" asked the normal sounding red.

"I'm Sam, this is Vincent," Sam said.

"Grabnar," the red replied, "some crazy Mods you got there, I recognize the FF7 skin, what's yours?"

Vincent gave Sam a questioning look, Sam returned a look that said: "Don't ask."

"Character from a Manga, not very well known, forget it," Sam said dismissively.

"I've never seen a Mod quite of this detail, what other kinda hacks can you guys do?" asked Grabnar.

"H4XOr$ 4r3 N0Obs," Rossel said in his high pitched voice.

"Shut it, Rossel, go get Roper. Tell him and the others to get moving and keep an eye for the blues coming back," Grabnar ordered.

Rossel seemed indignant but followed orders.

"Guess we found the leader," Vincent muttered.

"So I guess you two are on our side, or we wouldn't have won that one," Grabnar commented.

"We might not look red on the outside, but we're red at heart," Sam said.

"I'm sure," Grabnar said, "alright, well, we're moving."

The reds gathered and headed away from the battlefield, the blues would be coming back soon. Sam looked up and saw the Shera for a moment before it disappeared into nothingness.

"What now?" asked Vincent.

Sam shrugged, "Game on."


	6. Paradoxed Paradox

**Chapter 6**

**Paradoxed Paradox**

A team of blues moved cautiously around a grouping of boulders, the red flag sat helplessly a few meters away. The blues checked each other and began to move in on their target. There appeared to be no one guarding it, never a good sign. Then again, it was always possible the reds had been distracted elsewhere. There was a space of about fifteen feet from the last boulder to the flag which was entirely open field. Perfect spot for an ambush, the blues anticipated this. They spread out and sent three groups. One to the left, other to the right, and one up the middle, the side groups would scout for any kind of snipers or waiting enemies, the centre group would be the decoys. The side groups moved behind and checked possible hiding spots, all clear on both left and right sides. The group in the centre was untouched. It was too good to be true.

"Move on the flag," ordered one blue, the side groups came out of hiding and joined the middle group in the open field.

They were only a few feet from the flag when they heard a sound. An engine, a vehicle of some sort.

A Warthog exploded over a small ridge and soared through the air toward them, as if flying. The hang time was so great that the vehicle made it all the way to the blues before hitting the ground. When it did hit the ground it crushed a blue right under it. The driver looked out the side and smiled.

"_Surprise!"_ Sam yelled jovially as he hit the gas and blew through the group of blues, completely obliterating the formation of enemies. Only two escaped the attack and immediately sprinted for their lives back toward the boulders. Sam stopped the Warthog, knowing he couldn't maneuver the area ahead.

He was silent for a moment and then looked up in the air, "I believe that was at least a _kill-tacular_."

_Sorry, I wasn't paying attention_, replied the disembodied announcer for the game.

"That's alright, I'm always unappreciated, you get used to it," Sam said.

_Yeah, welcome to my life_, replied the voice.

"I hear ya," Sam muttered and put the Warthog in reverse, heading back over the ridge.

§

The two surviving blues were almost miles from the group of boulders, believing they'd be out of harm's way now, they slowed their pace.

"Jesus, that shit was _close_!" growled one.

"That guy was psycho," said the other.

"I'M g0nn 0WNz0R tHT n0ob," promised the blue.

"Well," said a voice in front of them, "not today."

The two blues froze and looked forward slowly. In front of them was a red team member with a battle rifle, and the other was one of the strangely dressed men in a crimson cloak with a shotgun. Both reds had weapons pointed and aimed at point blank range.

The speaker had been Grabnar, the leader of the reds, and the player with the rifle.

"Your move," Grabnar said.

The blues remained frozen for a while but reacted in the only way they could: they tried to pull up their weapons.

Grabnar emptied his clip and Vincent blew the other away with the shotgun.

Grabnar calmly reloaded his battle rifle and looked from the dead blues to Vincent, "You and your friend there are pretty good at this stuff, how long have you two been playing?"

Vincent shrugged, "I'm new, and Sam's been playing for quite a while. Beginner's luck on my part."

Grabnar nodded, "You're a natural, I had to play for a while to get this good. Wish I got used to it as fast as you did. I guess your friend took care of the rest."

Vincent and Grabnar rejoined the reds that were congregated just behind the ridge. Two reds with sniper rifles lay in a prone position, keeping eyes on the flag at all times.

"Did you get their flag?" asked one red.

"Not sure where it is just yet," Grabnar replied. "I suppose we could have asked those two blues we saw."

"They wouldn't have told us anyways," Vincent said deadpan, "but now I suppose we'll never know."

Grabnar laughed, "I love this guy."

Sam grinned, "There is a certain charm there, I've noticed."

"Roper, what's next you think?" asked Grabnar.

Roper appeared to be second in command to Grabnar, he also seemed to be able to somehow know where the flags would next appear after a team won or lost, hence where they would have to set up next. In Sam's mind, he guessed Roper must have access to the Lobby in some way and was choosing the games somehow, indicating he must have created the game entirely. Meaning he could also be the key to the paradox.

"Looks like we'll be heading in for some urban warfare next time 'round," Roper replied, sitting on a rock beside another red. He pointed off behind him, "in there."

He was pointing off a few meters toward Edge.

"We happen to know that place quite well," Sam commented.

Grabnar nodded, "Good, I'm fairly unfamiliar with it, personally."

"c0mE 0n 9Uy$, leT'5 g0 0wnZ0R 50me noOB5! L3+'$ 9E+H31R pHL4G!" whined Rossel in his signature whiny voice.

Vincent had no idea what he had just said.

"We'll get their flag, Rossel," Grabnar said shaking his head, "be patient."

"Mr. dark and shadowy and I will find it for you guys," Sam offered. "Then we'll come back and let you know."

Grabnar nodded, "Alright, rest of us will be getting ready. Some of you get out there and find us some vehicles, at least two more Warthogs."

Sam nodded to Vincent, the two headed over the ridge. They could both hear the screech of Rossel complaining about having to go out in search of a vehicle.

"Alright," Sam said as soon as they were out of sight, "do your alter ego thing, I'll see you in a minute."

"Where are you going?" asked Vincent.

"Get my own means of flying," Sam replied.

"Can't you just use your telekinesis to fly?" asked Vincent.

"Boy you ask a lot of questions," Sam said, "my answer: telekinesis can't shoot lasers."

Vincent looked at him curiously.

"Just go, find the flag, it'll be blue," Sam said grinning, "looks kinda like a flag."

"Thank you," Vincent muttered.

"Anything I can do to help."

Vincent became Chaos, which he hadn't done in quite a while recently, and shot up into the air.

"Now," Sam muttered, "if I were a Banshee, where would I be?"

Chaos shot over familiar green fields, checking every inch of land he passed over. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for. It wasn't so much the blue flag that gave it away as the large grouping of blue team members. They were congregated; much like the reds had been, obviously planning for something.

Chaos turned and headed back for the red flag, first searching for Sam. He expected to see the Cetra come flying in on one of those funny purple aircraft, but he was nowhere to be found. He decided Sam might have returned to the red flag and made his way back.

His wings carried him at extremely high speeds, so the trip back took all of about half a minute. Chaos was about to land, ready to change back so he wouldn't have to explain his appearance to the reds, when he heard something very quiet. It sounded like a voice trying to talk to him. He looked around, but saw nothing. Moments later he realized it must have been the communicator Cid had given him.

Both Sam and Vincent had received small ear pieces which allowed them to talk between each other and to Cid via the comm. System on the Shera. Chaos came to a hovering stop and tried to listen to his right ear, still too quiet. He tried sticking his finger in his ear, but it didn't improve anything. Out of options, Chaos comically slapped himself on the side of the head, there was a loud buzzing noise and the voice came through clearly.

"_Shadowy, to get the earpiece to work, slap yourself on the side of the head I repeat, to get the ear—" _It was Sam.

"I can hear you," Chaos cut Sam off.

_"Oh, hey, dude, you gotta come find me, it's getting strange up in here,"_ Sam replied.

"Where are you?" asked Chaos.

_"Not far from our flag, a little bit east, you'll see me,"_ Sam replied.

Chaos shot across to the east and almost immediately saw one of the strange purple aircrafts on the ground. Beside it was Sam, waving at him. Chaos set down and once again became Vincent.

"Find the flag?" asked Sam.

Vincent nodded.

"Good, well, I found something weirder, check this out," Sam gestured for Vincent to follow him over a steep ridge. "When you get to the top stay low."

The two traversed the rocky ridge and made it to the top, both ducked low, but enough to see over the other side.

"More people?" asked Vincent.

Below, there was what appeared to be a camp, there was a fire going and a bunch of tents set up. People in odd clothing were walking around and talking. There was what also appeared to be some kind of horse-drawn carriages in varying sizes.

"Yeah," Sam said, almost ominously.

"Who do you think they are?" asked Vincent.

Sam stared for a moment, "I have a guess."

Vincent waited for his answer.

"They're gypsies," Sam muttered.

"Gypsies?" asked Vincent. "What's a gypsy?"

"Bad news is what they are," Sam growled, "haven't you ever read 'Thinner' by Stephen King?"

Vincent looked at him.

"Of course you haven't," Sam muttered, "trust me, they're bad news."

"Who are they, exactly?" asked Vincent, used to having a lot of questions when it came to Sam.

"Outcasts," Sam replied.

Vincent looked at him curiously.

"Not _the_ Outcasts," Sam replied immediately, "thank God. They're Cetra with their own way of life, they were a minority. Some were bad asses, but none of them enough to want to take over the world or anything. They aren't so concerned with the Lifestream as much as just traveling everywhere, including existences. Due to their excursions they slowly either went insane, or changed."

"Changed how?" asked Vincent.

"Violent," Sam replied, "started to find out ways of turning Materia and magic into curses."

"Curses," muttered Vincent.

"_Thinner!"_ Sam muttered. "You won't get that joke."

Vincent ignored him.

"Personally, I thought the movie was better," Sam said.

"Where are they going, what are they doing here?" asked Vincent.

"Don't know, and don't know," Sam replied. "As far as I know they can't cause paradoxes either. They can be caught in them, though. If they were gonna leave, they'd have done it already. Looks like they're stuck."

"Which means they need us," Vincent said.

Sam shook his head, "They don't know left from right, they'd eat us for lunch or some other crazy thing anyways."

"They're existence travelers, they might know something about this paradox we don't," Vincent suggested.

Sam was silent.

"Sam," Vincent said.

Sam said nothing, he was staring at something.

"Sam," Vincent said, "what is it?"

"They are Stephen King gypsies," Sam said, "we have a problem."

"What?" asked Vincent.

Sam checked again, "That's bad. Mr. Shadows, we got a problem. Remember how I told you this paradox would mimic a form of fiction, like a book or a movie?"

Vincent nodded.

"Now it's imitating both a book and a video game, that's two adjectives, which means two paradoxes," Sam said, "see those gypsies? They're exactly the same ones from the book 'Thinner' the hot one there with the dress. See? She's got this sling shot with ball bearings. That old guy there is like her grand father, he's like some hundred years old. I don't see the daughter, which means she's either not present or was still hit by a car."

"You're not making any sense," Vincent said.

"There's a paradox here…within a paradox," Sam said.

"Two paradoxes on top of each other," Vincent muttered.

"A paradoxed paradox…" Sam trailed off, "which in itself is actually considered a paradox of paradoxes."

"That's not normal, is it?" asked Vincent.

"We Cetra in the existence-jumping community have a word for this," Sam said looking at the gypsies blankly.

"Sephiroth?" asked Vincent.

Sam looked back, "I was gonna say _impossible_, but that works too."


	7. Air Raid

**Chapter 7**

**Air raid**

Sam paced back and forth; Vincent followed the Cetra with his eyes, back and forth. Vincent had been sitting there for the past few minutes watching Sam try and get his head around their complicated situation. Inwardly, Vincent was troubled by the fact Sam was troubled. Vincent had been recently thrown into some very uncommon situations, time travel wasn't something he was accustomed to. The only thing that had ever given him a sense of stability was the fact that Sam always seemed to know what to do. Unfortunately, this time, the situation was quite different.

"Alright," Sam said turning to Vincent.

"Figured it out?" asked Vincent deadpan, privately he actually did hope Sam had come up with an answer.

"No, no idea," Sam replied, "but I do have a plan."

Vincent shook his head, "That is?"

"Not to have a plan," Sam answered.

Vincent stared at him.

"What?" asked Sam.

"I'm calling the Shera," Vincent muttered, standing up.

"No, wait, I'm serious here," Sam said waving his hands, "I'm gonna go Indiana Jones on this one."

"Go what?" asked Vincent.

"Indiana…oh right…I mean we have to improvise, make shit up as I go along," Sam said, "I plan to have no plan."

Vincent sat down again.

"Alright, so it is clear that we are stuck. The extent of the paradox makes that obvious, which means the only way out is to make it so there is no longer a paradox. So it appears we have a paradox paradoxed paradox which in itself is a time travel paradox. Hence we have to find a way to break the paradox paradoxed paradox thing to get out of the paradoxed paradox, paradox. The only way I can think of at this point is either finding the key to the paradoxed paradox, paradox, or creating our own paradox in an effort to cancel out the paradoxed paradox, paradox. In essence, creating a paradoxed paradox paradoxed paradox!"

"Do you have any idea what you're talking about?" asked Vincent.

"No, but it sounded good didn't it?"

"I'm calling the Shera," Vincent said standing up again.

"No, wait!" Sam said, "I'm kidding, look, it is possible to create a paradox to cancel out other paradoxed paradoxes, but I'm not capable of doing that kind of thing."

"Who can?" asked Vincent.

"No one here," Sam replied, "but I know people who can."

"Can we send a message out of this existence?" asked Vincent.

"I doubt it, not through the usual channels," Sam muttered.

"What are our options?" asked Vincent.

"We report back to the reds," Sam replied, "try and stay away from the gypsies."

"That's it?" asked Vincent.

"Just until I can figure this thing out," Sam said, "we haven't been here that long. Have patience Grasshopper."

Sam knelt down and picked up a rock, he stepped in front of Vincent and held his hand out, palm up, with the rock on it, "When you can take the rock…from my hand…you will be ready, Grasshopper."

Vincent grabbed the rock.

"Shit," Sam muttered, "okay, I wasn't ready, I call a do-over!"

Vincent threw the rock on the ground, "Let's go then."

Vincent headed back over the ridge and toward the reds.

Sam stayed behind a little, after a moment he lifted his left hand, which had Vincent's shotgun held in it.

"You are quick Grasshopper," Sam said, "but not quick enough, mwahahahah."

Vincent grabbed the shotgun from behind Sam and walked past.

Sam looked around in confusion, "Now how the hell did you do that?"

Vincent kept walking.

"You win this round," Sam muttered and followed.

They returned to the reds a few minutes later.

"You alright?" asked Grabnar.

"Sorry for the delay, blues came on full-force," Sam replied, "they're pretty pissed about losing that last one I guess."

"j00 N0ob$ F1ND tH3iR PHla9?" asked Rossel.

Vincent winced as the red talked.

"Yes, Rossel, we found their flag," Sam replied.

"GooD+HEn L3+'S g0 0wNzoR TH05E 81+Ch3S," Rossel yelled.

"What was the last word?" asked Vincent.

"I think it was _bitches_," Sam muttered, "I've begun to ignore him already."

"Roper, you and the others bring around the Warthogs," Grabnar ordered. "Rossel, get a Ghost and bring it here."

Everyone carried out their allotted tasks and returned.

Vincent noticed Sam looking around, as if searching for something.

"Problem?" asked Vincent.

"Off in the distance, you see that?" asked Sam, pointing.

Vincent looked, and saw nothing in particular, "See what exactly?"

Sam stared for a long while, "Looks like mist."

Vincent did notice that, it looked like common mist. A sort of white wall that made visibility out there difficult, it almost completely blotted out Edge. But mist wasn't strange, it was common weather.

"Is mist bad?" asked Vincent, feeling the question was quite stupid.

"Or ash," Sam murmured.

"Ash?" asked Vincent.

"I'm not sure if it's mist, or ash," Sam said.

"You're being cryptic again, what does ash mean?" asked Vincent.

"Ash falling from the sky," Sam said, "maybe not mist, but ash."

Vincent looked at him strangely, "Are you alright?"

Sam seemed to snap out of a trance, "Yeah, it's probably just mist. If it's ash then that's not good."

"Why is ash bad?" asked Vincent.

"People, let's move!" Grabnar yelled.

"Later," Sam said dismissively. Vincent shrugged and followed Sam, they both got in a Warthog. The red named Roper was in the driver seat.

"I'll take passenger side, you take the big gun on the back, Shadowy," Sam said, Vincent nodded and jumped on the LAAG.

"Ready?" asked Roper, mirrored visor looking at Sam.

"Let's run down some blues," Sam said readying dual SMGs.

Roper nodded and hit the gas, the rest of the reds followed suit. Grabnar's Ghost pulled out ahead and led the group.

Vincent noticed Sam looked back one last time before they were off. Vincent wanted to know what ash meant, but this took priority.

"Roper," Sam said, "tell Grabnar to take a left over this ridge here and sort of curve in. We'll hit the flag on an angle."

Roper nodded.

"Two blues in the distance," Vincent warned.

"Range on that gun's pretty good, Shadowy, fire at will," Sam said.

Grabnar beat him to it. The red leader fired the Ghost's weapons and blew the two enemies away almost instantly.

"You know," Sam said, "this is almost too easy."

"Grabnar's really good," Roper said turning the Warthog sharply to the left, "might just be the best player ever, give or take."

"That's why he's the boss, I guess," Sam said grinning.

"Yeah," Roper agreed and the Warthog shot over the ridge like a ramp.

The group of red vehicles moved ominously toward the blue flag.

"What we need here is the Imperial March," Sam said.

Roper laughed, "Yeah, Darth Vader."

Vincent looked puzzled.

Sam put a hand over his mouth and breathed heavily, "Vincent…I am your father!"

Vincent looked at him blankly, and responded in the only way he could think of, "Shut up, Sam."

Roper laughed, "Loveable guy, eh?"

"He's an acquired taste," Sam said.

Bullets rippled off the Warthog armour and all three ducked instinctively.

"Three blue off to the right!" Roper warned.

"Tell Grabnar the flag's just around those rocks there!" Sam yelled and raised his sniper rifle instead of the SMGs.

Trying to hit enemies with the sniper rifle was made tenfold harder by being in a fast-moving vehicle; however Sam was very good with the sniper rifle. He aimed the gun slowly, giving himself the necessary time and distance to fire the bullet in such a way that the momentum of the moving vehicle would carry it right into the enemy.

He fired.

The streak smashed into one of the three blues sending him flying off his feet.

"Nice shot," Roper commented steering the vehicle to avoid more shots from the blues.

Vincent turned the large gun on the Warthog and fired full auto at the remaining blues. The gun might not have been the most accurate, but the number of bullets it fired made accuracy somewhat irrelevant anyways. The two were dead almost instantly.

"Now that's a gun, eh?" asked Sam.

"Little bit big for my taste," Vincent replied.

The Warthog followed its allies around the rocks and into a firestorm.

The remaining blues were around the flag and firing away. One had a rocket launcher and fired at a Warthog.

"Rossel, heads up!" yelled Roper.

One red bailed out just in time, the other two inside were killed along with the Warthog.

"dMn GUy5+H4+ WA$ Clo5E !" yelled Rossel.

"Yeah, it was close, now get under cover!" Roper yelled as their Warthog shot past.

Vincent held down the trigger and sprayed the entire area with the LAAG. It would have been enough to kill them all if the one with the rocket launcher hadn't reloaded and fired again.

"Out people, out!" yelled Grabnar.

Roper and Sam jumped and ran; it appeared Vincent was still inside when it exploded. The shockwave knocked Roper and Sam off their feet. Roper turned and sprayed his battle rifle at the blues in the area.

"They got him," Roper growled looking at the incinerated Warthog.

Vincent seemed to float down from the sky, and landed behind one of the far off blues. He blew him away with the shotgun.

"That's a negative," Sam murmured and raised his rifle. "Where's that bastard with the rockets?"

"There," Roper said, pointing at the blue's position. He appeared to be out of rockets and was about ready to go searching for more.

"pWn3D ," Sam muttered, his rifle exploded and the blue was blown off his feet.

"Heads up," Roper yelled and fired his battle rifle at some oncoming enemies.

Suddenly a red with a shotgun blew into the running enemies, blowing them all away. Grabnar looked down at the dead blues and then headed over Sam and Roper.

"Seemed to be working for Vincent, thought I'd try the shotgun," Grabnar said.

Vincent backhanded the last blue enemy across the face with his golden clawed hand, he fell dead.

"W3 0wNZOR3d TH0$3 NOobS !" yelled Rossel laughing and grabbing the flag.

"Yes," Vincent muttered, "I suppose we did."

Vincent and Rossel met up with Sam and Roper.

"This all that's left?" asked Grabnar.

"That guy with the rockets pretty much got everyone else," Roper said bitterly.

"Well, let's get this flag back and we can—"

Grabnar was interrupted by a high pitched, ear splitting, noise. It sounded almost like a sort of muffled cry, it seemed to start as a low moan and climb to a high pitched scream that made Vincent wince.

"The hell is that?" asked Roper.

Sam looked around, as if expecting something to happen.

"Sounds like an air-raid siren," Grabnar yelled over the horrid noise.

"wHY 1s TH3Re an a1R Ra1D 5Ir3N HErE?" asked Rossel.

"There shouldn't be an air raid siren here," replied Roper. "Must be a glitch or something, God that's creepy."

"It was ash," Sam muttered.

"What?" yelled Vincent.

"Something's about to happen," Sam yelled, "not something I can explain right now, it's coming fast and we need to go, right now!"

"What's coming?" asked Roper.

Sam looked off in the distance again, "The Darkness."

"Darkness?" asked Grabnar. "Air raid siren, Darkness, this is some Silent Hill shit man, what are you getting at?"

"That's exactly what I'm getting at," Sam said, "Silent Hill."

"What's Silent Hill?" yelled Vincent.

Sam looked at him, "You're about to find out."


	8. Ghost Town Troubles

-alright, well, if you've been paying attention, I am now delving into the world of Silent Hill. I had to mix in a movie somewhere and I was gonna do Texas Chainsaw Massacre…but Silent Hill was better…and that's my opinion…and everyone is entitled to my opinion. Anyways, if you haven't seen Silent Hill, HAVE NO FEAR, the only thing you should be worried about is why the hell you haven't watched that movie yet! I will be writing with much explanation, remember, Vincent doesn't know what Silent Hill is either. Now I've always been inclined toward the game, with Harry Mason and Cheryl, instead of the chick and the other chick. However, as this is a paradox it won't really follow either the games or the movies, but both, and neither one…it's supposed to be confusing, you'll get it. There will also be a little more swearing due to the more frightening type of enemies…you've been warned.

**Chapter 8**

**Ghost Town Troubles**

The grass seemed to peel back in on itself and almost burn away; simultaneously the blue sky seemed to burn itself away to pitch black. A massive flock of birds shot overhead, screeching constantly, running from something. Within seconds, the world had gone black.

"The hell is this, something wrong with the colour in the game?" asked Roper.

"Run people," Sam said.

They looked at him.

"I'm serious, fucking _run!_" Sam yelled.

Even Vincent jumped; he'd never really heard Sam yell like that before.

He sounded…scared.

They, every one of them, turned and followed Sam off in a full out sprint. They all ran, each of them going at full speed, the darkness around them blurring past as they went.

"The hell are we running from man?" asked Grabnar.

"You really don't wanna…" Sam stopped dead; it was as if there was a cloud of black forming in front of him. "…shit."

"What?!" asked Vincent urgently, aiming his shotgun at the forming cloud.

"Any of you play Silent Hill 2?" asked Sam, backing up slowly.

"Didn't beat it, but why?" asked Roper.

"You know the dude, with the helmet thing and the sword?" asked Sam backing up still.

"Yeah, uh, Pyramid Head, or Red Pyramid from the movie, Japanese guys say the official name is Triangle…" Roper trailed off, Sam nodded. "You're fuckin' with me."

Sam pointed, "He's not."

Roper and Sam saw a familiar form, for everyone else this was something they had never seen before. The thing didn't surprise Vincent so much as he had seen his share of monsters, but Grabnar and Rossel were left speechless.

"Now what in the fuck is that?" asked Grabnar.

In front of them, out of the forming cloud of black, was a large creature that appeared mostly human. It was probably about eight feet tall or so and had a strange helmet type thing on. It was a six-sided tetrahedron, something like a pyramid, hence the name given. The huge thing held an even bigger sword, and appeared to have the muscular structure to carry the thing with no trouble. The thing wore little clothing, giving it an even more human appearance. It did have something like a dress around its legs, though it didn't really appear very feminine overall.

The silent giant seemed to stare at them, even though it didn't really have any eyes.

Sam stepped to the left and the huge metal headgear seemed to follow him, Sam stepped back to his original position, the helmet followed.

"Alright, looks like I'm today's pick," Sam muttered, he looked to the others. "Keep going straight, you'll find a small town eventually, I'm sure."

"Called Silent Hill?" asked Grabnar.

"Get outta here," Sam growled, no one stopped to ask questions; Vincent did give Sam a questioning look.

"If I don't come walking back after an hour or so, call the Shera, find a way out," Sam said.

"If you don't come…" Vincent tried to ask.

"Go!" Sam yelled.

Vincent went.

Sam looked back to the huge creature in front.

"Okay you son of a bitch," Sam growled, his staff appearing in his right hand, "Harry, James, Cheryl, Cybil, add me to the mother fuckin' cast list, bitch, Samael's in the _game!_"

The thing called Pyramid Head moved forward, Sam hit him head on with a growl that resonated off the mountains around him.

§

Vincent heard the war cry that was unmistakably Sam's. Whatever the big thing was, Sam was fighting it. The last thing Sam had said was a cliché: if I'm not back in an hour, leave without me, type of line. It would have been laughable if he hadn't said it so seriously. It seemed as if Sam planned to leave dying as an option.

But as far as Vincent knew, Sam couldn't actually die.

What the hell were they up against?

"Jesus, this is fucked, the hell, up!" Roper yelled. "This can't be real, man!"

"Guys, look," Rossel said, his voice just as high pitched, but infinitely easier to understand. It seemed the present situation urged him to stop his annoying L33t habit.

He was pointing straight ahead, buildings of different sizes.

A town.

"We shouldn't go there," Roper said stopping, breathing heavily.

"Sam said to find a town," Grabnar said, "I don't know how he knows what he's talking about, but he seemed to."

"That's Silent Hill," Roper growled, "that's where all this shit happens, man! You played Silent Hill, Grab, think about it!"

"He must've known it'd be safer in there than out in the open, Roper," Grabnar replied, "I'm not too comfortable out here, with no cover."

Multiple noises behind Vincent made him turn around quickly.

Nothing there.

"Everyone, get ready," Vincent muttered, raising his shotgun.

"What?" asked Rossel.

"Something's coming," Vincent muttered, the shotgun aimed steadily into the darkness. In truth, Vincent didn't think he'd be able to see anything until it was dangerously close.

Luckily, his lack of vision was helped by his hearing.

Moans…seemed like hundreds of loud moans.

"Sounds like zombies," Rossel said, battle rifle raised.

Grabnar stepped up courageously beside Vincent.

"This isn't Resident Evil," Grabnar said, "it's gonna be weirder than a zombie."

He wasn't disappointed.

"Jesus, titty-fucking…" Roper muttered, "…the fucking…grey kids…Grey Children, Jesus Christ."

Only a few feet away there was a large group of what appeared to be small children with grey skin…and no faces. There were massive holes where their faces should have been.

"There is something seriously wrong with this place," Vincent muttered.

"It gets worse," Grabnar muttered.

"Start moving toward the town," Vincent ordered and began firing.

The first grey thing was blown to the ground, a second later the entire group seemed to get louder and start running. Knives were visible in their hands.

"They're running," Rossel said.

"You'd be smart to follow suit," Vincent said calmly.

Rossel muttered something and started running.

One of the grey things shot off the ground and headed toward Vincent.

He backhanded the creature with a golden clawed hand. It hit the ground and bounced away.

"Who's next?" asked Vincent rhetorically.

They all were, all at once.

Vincent started backing up slowly, emptying shell after shell into the large group of mutilated children. They didn't really appear to be dying. It was that, or there were just a lot of them.

One broke out of the mob and shot through the air. Vincent pumped the shotgun and aimed, blowing the child out of the air. The other reds were long gone.

Vincent ran out of ammo. He smashed another jumping child across the face and sent it flying away, Vincent turned and ran toward the town.

His running speed was more than sufficient to catch up with the other reds easily. The group of monsters wasn't far behind.

"There's too fucking many of 'em!" Rossel yelled.

Vincent silently agreed with the observation and followed the other reds into the town. The streets of the ghost town were equally as dark as the fields outside the limits of the town, decaying buildings, probably with all sorts of mutilated creatures scurrying inside.

"Oh, fucking _of course_!" Roper yelled.

"What?" asked Grabnar.

"The _school_," Roper growled, "_of course_, put us in front of the mother fucking creepy _school_!"

"Midwich Elementary School," Grabnar muttered. "We're not going in there."

"I don't think we have a choice," Vincent muttered.

The Grey Children numbers had doubled and tripled, there were hundreds of them, moving in a swarm. Vincent drew his pistol and spun, aiming.

"Inside, now!" Vincent yelled, firing the pistol.

"Don't run," said a voice to Vincent's left, he turned and aimed.

There was a figure he hadn't expected to see.

A little girl.

Long black hair, and somewhat pale, her almost melodic voice seemed to echo around him.

"Don't run," the little girl said again, and smiled, "you'll only die tired."

"What the fuck is it with you people?" growled Grabnar, he fired half his rifle clip into the little girl. Bullets seemed to hit her, and she was staggered backward with deadly force, but she didn't fall over.

She didn't die.

"Fuck it, let's go!" Grabnar growled.

Vincent stared at the girl, red eyes met hers…pitch black eyes.

"There's no leaving Silent Hill," she said, seeming to talk directly to him.

Vincent holstered his pistol, "When I'm done with these little things, trust me, whatever you are, I _will_ kill you!"


	9. The Paradoxer

**Chapter 9**

**The Paradoxer**

The doors slammed closed noisily behind them, Grabnar quickly grabbed a mop and slid it through the door handles so it couldn't be opened. The creatures outside tried to, but they couldn't get in. Vincent turned and looked around. The school was exactly as Roper had described it: creepy. It was as dark inside as it was outside, possibly worse. Lockers, and basically all surfaces of the place, were decaying and falling apart.

"There's other doors into this place," Roper said, "we gotta block them all!"

"Roper, you and Rossel go down the hall to the left," Grabnar said, "Vincent and I will go right. Hopefully we meet in the middle."

Roper and Rossel raised weapons and ran. Vincent and Grabnar did likewise.

They passed by more and more rows of dilapidated lockers and doors.

"Place could use a makeover," Grabnar muttered.

"It's going to take more than that I think," Vincent said.

"There, door!" Grabnar said suddenly.

Vincent saw the double doors just as they were pushed inward, a few of the Grey Children came walking in.

"Space is taken, kids!" Grabnar yelled and fired his battle rifle. The bullets blew away most of the creatures and Vincent successfully barred the rest outside.

"They're already trying other doors," Vincent growled.

He and Grabnar quickly shot off down the dark halls; they appeared to be staying ahead of the creatures outside.

They headed forward, hoping they had gotten all the doors. Vincent's mind was running on all cylinders, he was stuck between trying to figure out what the hell was happening and what to do next.

Vincent had never been scared in his life, and this was no different. But he sure as hell was overwhelmed, and confused, without a doubt.

"Vincent," Grabnar said, quietly, "door, on the left!"

It wasn't a door to the outside, it was a single decrepit door, and it was opening. Bugs seemed to crawl out of it, hundreds of little cockroach-type things that spread off in different directions.

Vincent raised his pistol, Grabnar his battle rifle.

Something else was coming through the door, it sounded like sliding, as if it was dragging itself.

"Whatever the fuck comes out that door," Grabnar said, "blow it away."

"I intend to," Vincent replied.

A hand appeared on the ground, the rest of the creature was still behind the door. A second hand appeared and seemed to try and find traction on the ground, as if attempting to pull itself forward with only its hands. Then they realized why.

The thing's legs were tied with barbed wire, up around its head.

"That's like some fucking barbed wire yoga shit, there," Grabnar muttered.

Wherever the thing's hands touched, the area around them seemed to decay even more, and those strange bugs seemed to spawn from the mess left behind.

Vincent took a moment to just try and fathom how something like this was created, but only a moment, and then he was emptying his clip into it. Grabnar fired away as well, rifle hitting the creature hard and sending it flailing around on the ground.

They both ran out of ammunition, the thing wasn't moving.

"The Janitor," Grabnar muttered.

"What?" asked Vincent.

"From the movie," Grabnar said, "Colin the mother fucking Janitor…the guy in the stall. Whatever the hell is happening here, it's imitating Silent Hill with us in it. How does something like this happen?"

Vincent reloaded the pistol, "This clearly spawned from something very wrong."

"A-fucking-men to that, brother," Grabnar growled, "we gotta find Roper and Rossel."

Vincent and Grabnar left the Janitor behind, stepping on a few of the strange bugs as they went. They found Rossel and Roper standing back at the doors where they had started from.

"Bastards almost got in on the last door, we got 'em locked out now, though," Roper reported.

"What're we supposed to freaking do now?" asked Rossel.

"Well, I think I'm starting to get this," Grabnar said, "if the pattern continues, this…whatever this is, will imitate Silent Hill. Which means either it's like the movie and the Darkness goes away after a while or it's like the game and we probably have to kill a boss of some kind."

"What a mess," muttered Roper.

"We have to consider there might be more creatures inside the school already, as well," Vincent added.

Grabnar nodded, "We killed one back down that hall, the Janitor."

"Like from the movie?" asked Roper.

"Yeah."

"Jesus Christ," Rossel muttered.

There was a sudden large bang, something that made the walls shudder around them.

"What now?" asked Roper, aiming his battle rifle down the dark hallway ahead.

Heavy footsteps, coming their way as far as they could tell.

"Everyone get ready," Grabnar ordered, "kill the bastard as soon as it gets here."

A figure was outlined in the darkness, huge in stature.

"Fire!" Grabnar yelled.

"There's another one! Right!" yelled Rossel.

Vincent turned; the Janitor was crawling toward them, almost in arm's length.

"Fuck that guy's quiet," Grabnar growled and turned on the Janitor, he emptied the rest of his battle rifle into it.

Vincent aimed at their other enemy.

Pyramid Head, the creature Sam had been fighting.

Where was Sam?

"Oh shit, that's that big thing," Rossel cried, "it got Sam, fuck, what are these fuckers?!"

Vincent aimed and loaded the huge creature with every last bullet in his pistol. He reloaded while walking and continued to fire, the thing took the bullets and staggered backward.

The pistol was empty.

Grey Children began to pile into the halls behind Pyramid Head.

"Jesus, those little kids are coming down the halls!" Roper yelled over the gunfire of his own rifle.

Vincent tossed his gun away and drove his golden claw into Pyramid Head's stomach.

"Even if you talked, I suppose you wouldn't tell me where Sam is anyways, would you?" asked Vincent.

Pyramid Head dropped his large sword and grabbed Vincent, lifting him off the ground and to eye level with the strange helmet he wore.

The big thing could have crushed Vincent into nothingness, but letting that kind of thing happen hadn't kept Vincent alive this long. Being indestructible helped his situation as well…

Vincent ripped out his golden clawed hand and drove it into one of Pyramid Head's arms, when that didn't change anything he brought it up and drove it straight into the thing's helmet. There was resistance but Vincent's powerful claw drove right through the thing's headgear and into something inside, probably a disfigured head as things usually went. Vincent didn't care what he hit, he liked the fact it seemed to hurt.

Pyramid Head dropped Vincent back on his feet and staggered backward. Vincent picked up Pyramid's huge sword, with some struggle.

"Here," Vincent yelled, "don't forget this!"

Vincent impaled Pyramid Head on his own sword; the huge creature fell backward and crushed some of the approaching Grey Children under him.

"Kill them," said a familiar female voice, they all turned to see the little girl from outside standing down the left hallway, surrounded by more of the strange children.

"Her again," Rossel muttered.

"Bitch, who the _fuck_ are you?" yelled Roper.

She looked like she was about to answer, she was cut off by something sharp jutting through her back and out her stomach, she gasped.

"Yeah bitch," said Samael from behind her, head on her left shoulder, "who are you?"

"You're dead," she sputtered.

"You got that right, have been for quite a while, you've been out of the loop Alessa," Sam replied. "Let's let the sunshine back in, shall we?"

Sam ripped his staff out of her back and she disappeared, just gone. Apparently, along with everything else, the decaying lockers, the strange grey children, the severely wounded Pyramid Head, and the Janitor.

Light shone in from the windows, the school appeared normal, it looked like your average school now.

Sam stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall.

"Hey, kids," he said amiably, "have a nice time?"

"Yo man, you alright?" asked Roper.

"I'll live," Sam said smiling, "sort of."

"What happened?" asked Grabnar.

"It's a long story, Pyramid Head kicked my ass, so I decided to sneak up on him, caught his boss instead."

"That chick?" asked Grabnar.

"She's why everything goes black," Sam muttered.

"You called her Alessa," Roper commented.

"She likes Silent Hill a lot," Sam replied, walking toward them, "her mother's name isn't Dahlia, trust me, it's all purely fantasy for her."

"You look like hell," Rossel said.

"Thank you, you look like the Janitor on a good day, too," Sam retorted.

His face had a very visible scar along his left cheek and he was limping, favouring his left leg, and using his staff for support.

"Grabnar, you, Roper, and Rossel should go around the school and make sure there aren't any holes, if this shit starts up again we want this place barricaded," Sam said.

They nodded and were off.

"What is that girl?" asked Vincent.

"She's another example of a renegade Cetra," Sam replied leaning heavily against a wall across from Vincent.

"Another? How many bad apples do you have exactly?" asked Vincent.

"I know exactly what you mean, she's like me though. An existence jumper, she just found a little something that makes her more…unique."

"Unique how?" asked Vincent.

"Look, there's a whole other dynamic to existences. There are existences like the ones I go to, alternate realities so to speak. Alessa here is more in the world of alternate _dimensions_."

"What's the difference?" asked Vincent, almost not wanting to hear the answer.

"Well, realities have a certain set of rules, laws, like Centre Time and the artifacts and whatnot. Hence it can be manipulated only by following certain rules, like the Outcasts had to. Dimensions are considerably harder to find, and even harder to control. Alessa found a way. You see, dimensions aren't like existences in the way that they don't follow any rules. They aren't governed by the Lifestream, existences are like society, and dimensions would be more like a sort of organized crime syndicate, the Mafia if you will. If you learn to control a _dimension_, you can do anything from create instant debilitating paradoxes, to creating an army of creatures modeled after movies and video games. Like I said, Alessa really likes Silent Hill. She even changed her name to Alessa, in honour of the freaky chick in Silent Hill who controls all the crazy sit that goes on. We call people like her Paradoxers, because wherever they go they generally leave huge paradoxes. It's strange she'd surface like this, though, just create this mess and stick around."

"That's why she's so powerful?" asked Vincent.

"No my friend, worse," Sam muttered grimly, "that's why she's _invincible_."


	10. Roflcopter lolz 11one two

**Chapter 10**

**Roflcopter lolz!!!11one!two**

Everyone stepped out of the school and looked around, the town had gone from shadows to an eerie cloud of grey around them.

"Mist," muttered Roper.

Sam shook his head and said quietly, "Ash."

"You say we can't kill this girl," Grabnar said, "so what the hell do we do?"

"I don't know," Sam said, "right now, I think we should look around, get our bearings."

"Alright, Roper, Rossel, with me," Grabnar ordered, "you two gonna be alright?"

"We'll meet here," Sam said nodding.

The three reds were gone.

"We should contact the Shera, they must have seen the Darkness," Vincent said.

"I think it would be better for now if it stayed hidden," Sam replied, "Alessa doesn't know it's here, better she doesn't. If they found Tifa…"

Vincent looked at Sam curiously for a moment, "So what then?"

"Like I said, explore," Sam replied.

They did just that. Sam saw recreations of places he recognized from both the movie and the games. This entire place was a perfect, life sized, replica of Silent Hill.

"So if we can't defeat this Alessa girl, how can we leave?" asked Vincent.

"We can't," Sam replied.

Vincent stopped moving, "I would particularly enjoy something more of an answer at this point."

"I don't know, Vincent," Sam said, wincing as he stepped too hard on his bad leg, "I don't fucking know! This is way outta my league. This girl can kill me, man; the only person here who shouldn't be worried is you. She can kill Cetra, even ones like me; you're a free agent here. Chaos comes from the same darkness that makes this place go creepy. You can't kill her, she can't kill you! If I die here, I go back to the Lifestream, Grim Reaper or not. This place doesn't follow the rules, I can't fight this girl. You though, you can just get hit and come back. Get attacked and just keep on coming, it's like…"

Vincent waited a moment, "It's like what?"

"…it's like you're Harry Mason," Sam murmured.

"Like who?" asked Vincent.

"The main character from the first Silent Hill, Harry," Sam explained. "That might be it."

Vincent waited patiently for some kind of answer.

"Okay, look, the basic idea of the game was the battle between the little girl Alessa, and her mother, Dahlia. Think of the entire game like a chessboard. Alessa, she has most of the pieces. She controls the board, and where her pieces go. Dahlia had only one piece, lucky for her, though, she had a Queen. What I mean to say is Dahlia's only piece in the game was Harry, and the good thing about Harry was that if he died, he just kept coming back again and again. Dahlia was using Harry to slowly get at Alessa, breaking through Alessa's pieces until he got to the girl himself."

Vincent nodded slowly, "Alessa controls the pieces in this situation, so who's using me?"

"Well, I don't think there's a Dahlia around," Sam said, "but I might be Dahlia."

"You?" asked Vincent.

"It would make sense," Sam replied, "Dahlia is trying to get at Alessa, who is well protected. I'm trying to get at Alessa, but I can't do it myself. You, being like Harry, can't really die, so I have to use you to get to her."

"I'm your chess piece," Vincent muttered.

"Alessa really likes Silent Hill, it's possible she's trying to run this entire paradox like the game. It might be good for us if we don't follow the game, try and confuse Alessa," Sam explained.

"So now, if I were Harry, what would I do?" asked Vincent.

"Look for clues; you're trying to find Alessa. It's a little more complicated than that in the game, but that's the idea."

"I believe I'd start there," Vincent said, pointing.

He was pointing at a hotel.

"Yeah," Sam muttered, "the elevator, wonder if it's gonna be that easy."

"What?" asked Vincent.

"In the movie Alessa was under the hotel, you have to use an elevator to get there, it's like a hospital area below," Sam explained.

"With strange monsters fashioned after nurses?" asked Vincent.

Sam looked at him, "Yeah, how'd you know that?"

Vincent shrugged, "It just wouldn't surprise me."

They headed toward the hotel; the entire place wasn't so damn intimidating when it was just gloomy instead of pitch black.

"Sam, Vince, over here!" yelled a voice; they turned to see Roper in the distance.

"What is it?" asked Sam.

"We found something, not sure if it's significant," Roper replied.

"Hotel will still be here when we get back, I'm sure," Vincent murmured.

They followed Roper to a building that looked like it was barely still standing. It might have been an apartment building or something at one time. Now it was as faceless as any other building. They went around behind it and entered a narrow alley; Rossel and Grabnar were looking at something.

"Look at this," Roper said, Vincent and Sam looked.

On the wall, carved in by something obviously very sharp, was a strange phrase Vincent hadn't seen before.

It read, simply: "Roflcopter lolz!!!11one!two"

"Roflcopter?" asked Vincent struggling to get his mouth around the word.

"You think one of these monsters would know the word?" asked Grabnar.

"Did you see any blue team members around?" asked Sam.

Everyone shook their heads.

Sam stared, "Roflcopter goes soi soi soi soi."

Vincent looked at Sam strangely, "Do I want to know?"

"Roflcopter," Sam said, "roflcopter."

The reds looked to Vincent, equally confused; Sam seemed to see some significance.

"Guys, stay close, go check out the area and let me work on this for a bit, I think this might be our ticket out," Sam announced.

"How can a word be…?" Vincent decided against finishing the question, "…I hope you're right."

They left, leaving Sam alone.

Sam looked at the word over and over again, trying to remember where he'd seen it before. It was, in its most obvious form, a very stupid way of saying something was funny; it was also the name of the picture of a helicopter made with the letters r, o, f, and l for some parts.

Where else had he seen it? Who put it here?

_"L33t speak is one of those stupid languages made up so people feel they are in some way unique. In fact, they're simply as their language is: stupid."_

The phrase came into his head; it took Sam a few minutes to realize who'd said that to him.

"Sorin," Sam muttered and looked around. "The hell are you trying to tell me, man?"

It appeared Sorin had somehow been able to send a message through to the paradox. If Sam was right, then Sorin knew they were in trouble, but if that was all Sorin wanted to convey he would have just left a name, he wouldn't have written something like this unless he meant to say something else.

What was Sorin trying to say here?

Sam knew it must be a code, a riddle, straight from the Da Vinci Code Sam would guess, it was Sorin's favourite book.

"Da Vinci Code," Sam muttered, "some crazy Langdon shit, come on, what are you telling me?"

Invisible ink…Mona Lisa…_So Dark the Con of man…_

"Anagram," Sam muttered, "you know I hate anagrams, Sorin, but that's why you used it."

Sam started rearranging letters, after he came up with nothing coherent he started throwing in the exclamation marks and numbers. He concluded it probably didn't come out to a word, but a phrase, possibly an entire sentence.

Roflcopter lolz!!!11one!two.

He sat down and started to try and make phrases.

"Anything?" asked Roper kneeling beside Sam after a while.

"It's an anagram, I'm sure of it, but what he's trying to say, I'm not sure," Sam replied.

"Who put it here?" asked Roper.

"Not sure, really, it's all guessing at this point, I might be wasting my time," Sam lied.

"My name's in it," Roper offered, mostly as a joke.

Sam looked at it, Roper was right, even the r was capitalized.

"Roper," Sam muttered, "your name is in it."

Sam started going through the process again, this time leaving out the letters that spelled Roper.

After a few minutes Sam said, "The only combination I can get is 'follow Roper to Lozent c11.'"

"Follow Roper to Lozent, c11?" asked Roper.

"That's too coherent to be coincidence I think," Sam muttered, "that mean anything to you?"

"Lozent," Roper muttered. "You sure it's Lozent?"

"Well, of course it could be any variation of those letters; Lozent sounds like a place to me though."

"Why follow me?" asked Roper.

"Apparently you must know where Lozent is, I guess," Sam said.

"Lozent," Roper said again. "No, I have no idea."

Sam muttered a curse, "I might be making shit up here, too bad, thought I was on to something."

"Lozent," Roper muttered, "never heard of a place called Lozent."

"Where're the others?" asked Sam.

"They sent me to get you, said they want you there when they go in the hotel…" Roper trailed off.

Sam smiled, "What's the hotel called?"

"I don't know," Roper muttered, "it could be the Lozent."

Sam jumped up and winced as he landed on his bad leg again, "Let's find out."

Sam kept up, using the staff for support. They found Vincent and the others waiting.

"What's this hotel called?" asked Sam.

"It doesn't matter," Roper cut off Vincent's answer.

"Huh?" asked Sam.

"There's the Lozent," Roper said, pointing at a small building adjacent the hotel. In messed up red lettering it read, _Lozent_, "I guess you followed me to the Lozent."

"What's going on?" asked Grabnar.

The small building appeared to be some kind of storage space, it was plain on the outside, but from what they could see inside, it was filled with lockers.

"I got something from the word," Sam explained, "I followed Roper to Lozent, now the last part: c11."

"Locker number?" asked Roper.

They entered the small building, sure enough, there was a locker c11. It appeared to have no lock on it but was somehow stuck and wouldn't open.

"Sam, here," Vincent said from across the room, "looks like all lockers are controlled from this panel."

Sam walked over, there was a large black panel that had all the locker numbers lined up, beside each one was six buttons side by side, numbered from 1 to 6.

"If we hit the right numbers the locker opens I gather," Grabnar guessed.

"The only thing left from the word would be four exclamation marks," Roper remembered.

Sam nodded, "They're ones."

Sam hit the 1 button four times, c11 popped open with a click.

"You're one tricky bastard Sorin," Sam murmured, no one else heard.

They walked over and looked inside. There was a single small piece of paper lying there.

Sam grabbed it, it read:

_To Whom It May Concern, whoever found this locker would be smart to stay there for a bit, you'll see…_

_Yours truly, _

_Roflcopter goes soi soi soi soi…_

"That doesn't make any sense," Grabnar said shaking his head.

Sam shrugged, "Whoever went to all this trouble to get someone here must have a reason."

"Why would they want us to wait here?" asked Rossel.

"Who knows, the writer might be dead anyways," Grabnar said.

"Forget it, it's probably just…" Roper was interrupted.

A familiar screaming filled the room, started low and hit its highest, ear shattering, pitch after a small build up.

"Air raid siren," Rossel whispered.

"Jesus, you gotta be fucking joking," Grabnar growled, readying his weapon.

"Looks like we're not going anywhere, anyways," Sam said, "let's see if the writer wants to show up now."

Sam readied his sniper rifle, "Alright, people, barricade the front door, I'm gonna get on the roof with Vincent and take 'em out from up there. You three kill anything that might make its way in."

"The Alamo," Roper muttered.

Sam looked sidelong at Vincent, "Let's hope not."


	11. Inconsistency

**Chapter 11**

**Inconsistency**

The world wisped away to darkness around Sam and Vincent as they found the roof access. They climbed up; the roof itself was decaying, and looked dangerously unstable. Other buildings in the area did likewise, along with the ground and everything else. The place was once again covered in a darker, worst case scenario-type, existence.

"Do they know we're here?" asked Vincent.

They walked over to the edge of the roof and looked. Heading toward them was a huge mass of the Grey Children, wielding knives. In the mix were some other strange creatures that appeared to have no arms. They sort of staggered on two shaky legs, and had a blank orb that obviously was some kind of sick substitute for a head.

"I suppose they do," Sam muttered, he pulled an object from nowhere and handed it to Vincent.

Vincent took Cerberus from Sam's hand.

"Figured you'd want the original back," Sam said, "at this point it doesn't matter anymore. There's just so many of them that it's like fighting Shadows again."

"This appears to be a very hopeless situation," Vincent commented, checking his triple-barreled weapon.

"I'm hoping on some back up," Sam said, "until then, we just kill as many as we can."

Sam drew his sniper rifle; he didn't want to use his staff until the last minute. Sam was fairly weak as it was and using the staff would only drain his energy more. He took aim at one of the Grey Children and fired.

Vincent also began to fire, knowing his powerful firearm would easily make the distance from the roof to his enemies. The gun's triple shot killed three of the strange grey creatures.

"Three dead, one shot," Sam muttered, "I almost forgot how useful you are."

Vincent said nothing and continued to fire.

Sam's sniper shots combined with Cerberus dealt heavy damage on the approaching enemies. However, there was no shortage of enemies and for every one that was killed there were more than enough to take its place. Sam aimed and blew the head off one of the armless creatures.

"How does one come up with such horrid designs?" asked Vincent shaking his head at the creatures below and reloading his gun.

"Konami," Sam muttered.

"What?" asked Vincent.

"Nothing," Sam said and blew away another creature below.

Vincent emptied another round of ammunition into the creatures below.

"There's too many," Vincent growled.

"That's an understatement," Sam said and fired another shot from his rifle.

"They're trying to break inside," Vincent warned.

"Those things without the arms can spit this tar stuff; it'll burn right through—" something hit Sam and sent him to the ground hard.

Vincent fired some more shots and turned to look at Sam.

"Son of a _bitch_!" exclaimed Sam sitting up, hands over his face. "You fucking, stupid…son of a bitch!"

"What happened?" asked Vincent.

Vincent looked to the left and noticed something burning through the roof. Like acid, it made its way right through what was left of the decaying structure.

"You mother fucking! Son of a bitch-fuck!" Sam yelled falling back down on his side.

Vincent knelt down, "What happened?"

Sam seemed to calm down and got to one knee, he removed his hands.

"That armless fuck just burned out my right eye!" Sam growled.

Indeed, there was nothing left where his right eye had been.

Vincent couldn't think of anything to say.

There was something of a black smoking crater where an eye used to be. Whatever the stuff was had completely burned away anything that suggested he'd ever had anything there. If Sam was even capable of bleeding, the heat of the substance probably would have cauterized the wound.

"Fucking, ouch!" Sam yelled putting a hand over the mutilated eye. "I'm gonna kill that bastard."

"Go downstairs, I'll cover the roof," Vincent said.

"Hell with that," Sam growled throwing the rifle on the ground and pulling out his dual SMGs. "I'm gonna kill that bastard."

"Sam, wait," Vincent tried to stop him.

Sam ran at full sprint and jumped off the roof.

Vincent cursed and followed suit, jumping off the roof. Vincent fired all the way to the ground, clearing a space with dead bodies. There were hundreds of the creatures all around. He saw Sam a few feet off, SMGs on full auto and clearing out creatures left and right. He had to run out of ammo eventually, though.

Vincent emptied Cerberus to make a path toward Sam. By the time he got there, Sam was emptying an entire clip of an SMG into an already dead armless creature.

"If you _had_ a right eye, I'd blow it away!" Sam yelled.

"Sam, behind!" Vincent yelled.

Sam spun and backhanded a jumping Grey Child. It flew off to the side and tumbled into a group of others.

Vincent turned, he was trying to keep track of all of the enemies around him, there were too many. He spun and slashed away with his golden claw when the enemies got too close. One of the armless things tried to spit some of the black stuff that got Sam in the eye, Vincent raised his clawed arm and the deadly substance landed on the golden armour that covered it. The stuff seemed to burn itself out after a while. The gold armour seemed to neutralize the stuff, not a scratch was left on it, as if it had never been hit at all. The creature was unable to register shock, but if it could, it would have. Vincent raised Cerberus and blew the armless creature away.

"Interesting, I wonder what exactly you are," said a voice, female.

Vincent turned and aimed. Alessa stood behind him a few feet away.

"You aren't like Samael," Alessa said, "you can't be killed it seems, so what then, I wonder."

Suddenly a string of barbed wire seemed to shoot from somewhere behind her and shot at Vincent. It pierced right through Vincent's chest and lifted him in the air.

"From what I've seen, this must be but a minor inconvenience for you, no?" asked Alessa, another barbed wire knocked his gun away. "What exactly makes it so you can't die? Maybe this other thing inside of you perhaps?"

Vincent felt like he was being torn in half, Alessa seemed to be using some kind of telepathic power to bring out Chaos. It was as if he and Chaos had become two different creatures, his alter ego floated upright beside Vincent.

"I don't know what exactly that is," Alessa said, "but it is connected to you like it is you yourself. I wonder which your true form is."

"Unfortunately…for you," Vincent growled, "it isn't my only one."

Alessa looked at him curiously.

Then Vincent wasn't Vincent anymore. In an instant he had changed from his usual appearance to a huge creature with what appeared to be a goalie mask, more notably, he now wielded a chainsaw.

"Hellmasker, bitch," Sam said smashing one of the armless creatures across the face with the butt of his SMG, "Leatherface but cooler…and not from Texas…"

Hellmasker chopped off the barbed wire with the chainsaw and moved toward Alessa. She tried to fire off another of her barbed wire strands but Hellmasker slashed it with the chainsaw.

"Kill him!" Alessa yelled.

"Well that's a stupid order, now isn't it?" asked Sam. "You said yourself he can't be killed."

The mass of creatures seemed to converge on Hellmasker. Who swiftly spun in a circle and sawed off all of their heads. Blood sprayed in every direction.

"Dude," Sam muttered, "that was cool."

Hellmasker walked up to Alessa and seemed to stare at her for a moment, and then he swung the chainsaw and severed her head from her shoulders.

"Damn, man, you're psycho with this dude," Sam said.

Alessa's body flopped to the ground, her head a foot or two away.

Vincent was himself again, the Chaos that had been floating outside of him before must have returned because it was gone. There was no real way for Vincent to know, he just did. It was like Alessa had said: Chaos was a part of him.

Sam sprayed his SMGs, clearing out the creatures that had moved in to attack after Alessa's beheading. Sam stood beside Vincent a moment later.

"Why isn't the Darkness leaving?" asked Vincent.

Alessa's body shuffled to the side and managed to grab her head. She reconnected it to her shoulders and stood up. A crackle announced her head becoming one again with the rest of her body.

"You're a powerful creature, whatever you are," Alessa commented, "but you're still in my world."

"Alessa, dear," said a male voice from behind her, "I thought we talked about this a long time ago."

Sam smiled, "About damn time, dude."

Sorin stepped up behind Alessa, the monsters around him seemed to back off, as if afraid.

"Sorin," Alessa growled turning to look at him.

"I thought I made it clear that _your world_ wasn't to exist outside of _your world_," Sorin said, calmly. He wasn't in disguise this time, he just looked like himself. He had a bright red shirt on with a long dark red jacket that appeared to be made from some kind of lizard scales, maybe alligator, or something more exotic. "Why are you people showing up all of a sudden, what's the scoop, eh?"

Alessa smiled, "What's with you, Sorin, why you always assume something's going on when I'm around?"

"Because when you're around something's always going on," Sorin replied deadpan. "You aren't the only one; all the Paradoxers are out to play, what's the story?"

Alessa shrugged, "You got me."

"Yeah," Sorin said, "yeah, I do."

Alessa looked at him curiously.

"Inconsistency," Sorin said, the word seemed to have an affect on her. "Sam, definition please?"

"An inconsistency," began Sam, "is when someone creates a dimension in which there must also exist an item of some kind that destroys them."

"Textbook," Sorin said nodding, "in this situation, your world is made after Silent Hill. So much so, in fact, you were forced to also replicate the one item that could destroy you."

Sorin pulled a pyramid shaped object from nowhere and held it out to her, "The Flauros, my dear. The weapon Dahlia intended for use on Alessa, guess that makes me Dahlia."

Sorin tossed the item on the ground in front of her.

"No," she muttered.

"Good bye, Alessa," Sorin said amiably.

"Wait, wait!" she cried.

Sorin snapped his fingers and Alessa burst into flames. Vincent jumped back and covered his face as she just seemed to spontaneously burst. After what was left of her charred body lay dead, the foggy world returned and overtook the Darkness.

"You had to burn her alive, eh?" asked Sam.

Sorin shrugged, "She wanted to be like Alessa, it was fitting."

"Alessa survived the fire," Sam said.

"This one didn't," Sorin muttered, then regarded Sam's eye, "sorry for the delay, you're a mess my friend."

Sam put a hand over his burned out eye, "Yeah, this one eye thing sucks."

"You'd sort of look like Big Boss if you had an eye patch," Sorin said smiling.

Sam pointed at his right eye, lack thereof, "Do I look like I'm in the mood for Metal Gear Solid jokes right now?"

"When you starting up Foxhound…Big Boss?" asked Sorin laughing.

"Go ahead, one more joke," Sam said aiming his SMG, "make my day."

Sorin ignored Sam and looked to Vincent, "Are you alright?"

Vincent nodded.

"That's good, considering if you weren't then something is seriously wrong, it's common knowledge you can't really die," Sorin said.

"She didn't know," Vincent said.

Sorin nodded, "Paradoxers don't exactly spend much time in normal existences, and she's been out of the loop for a while now. Makes me wonder why she surfaced."

"You mentioned other Paradoxers," Sam said.

Sorin nodded, "An hour or so after you left for here I started getting reports of major paradoxes forming all over. Mostly on fringe existences, on further inspection I realized they were deliberate and not created by your shenanigans a while ago. Many of the Paradoxers that dropped off Cetra radar years ago have begun to reemerge, why, I don't know."

"How many?" asked Sam.

"At least five, three of which are relatively small time, the other two are notoriously bad news, one is dead now," Sorin replied, "in any case, I managed to direct your airship to this spot. They got a little lost after that Silent Hill incident, they're waiting for you. Once we're away from here I'll look after that eye of yours, Sam."

Sam nodded.

"What about them?" asked Vincent gesturing to where Roper, Grabnar, and Rossel were.

"They weren't real from the beginning," Sam explained. "They were a creation of the paradox. Now that Alessa's gone they will be too."

"We should be going, I'll fill you in on the rest once we're on your Shera," Sorin said.

Sam limped the distance with Vincent and Sorin until they found the Shera. It uncloaked and let them on, Tifa and Cid met the on the outdoor platform.

"Oh my God, Sam," Tifa said, immediately seeing his right eye. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"Good story to tell the grandkids," Sam said, "even though I'll never have grandkids."

Tifa continued to fuss over Sam's well-being, to his constant protests, while Cid, Vincent and Sorin walked ahead.

"Are you two aware of what Wymond has discovered yet?" asked Sorin.

"Where'd he go disappearin' to?" asked Cid.

"We haven't heard anything," Vincent said.

Sorin nodded, "Then I must warn you, we all may be headed for a time of great danger."

Cid lit up a cigarette, "Ain't like we never heard that line before."


	12. Redemption

**Chapter 12**

**Redemption**

Sorin stared out the front viewing area of the Shera as it passed slowly over the land below. Vincent and Sam stood on either side of him.

Sorin pointed ahead, "There, see it?"

"Temple of the Ancients is still standing here," Sam commented. Sorin had given him a standard black eye patch for the mess that had become his right eye, neither of them could go about healing the wound until they had left the fringe existence. Whatever Alessa had done to the place, the paradox left behind prevented the Cetra from using most of their powers. If Sorin hadn't had the Flauros then he would've been powerless against Alessa as well.

"Cloud and the others don't exist here," Sorin explained, "hence there was no one to take the Black Materia."

"What are we supposed to discover there?" asked Vincent.

"Wymond discovered something while checking out an existence for me," Sorin replied, "he came across an odd looking version of the Temple of the Ancients."

"Odd how?" asked Sam.

"Well, Captain Jack Sparrow, I'll tell you," Sorin said.

"Johnny Depp doesn't wear an eye patch, and I'm not a pirate, shut up," Sam retorted.

"Odd in the way that it was entirely black," Sorin continued.

"Like Black Materia?" asked Vincent.

Sorin nodded, "Which is strange, because the Temple itself is supposed to be the Black Materia. This alteration suggests the construct has been somehow separated, or more likely, combined with the Materia."

"Paradox?" asked Vincent.

Sorin smiled, "Of course."

"Of course," Vincent murmured.

"What did Wymond find?" asked Sam.

"The Black Pearl!" Sorin said, "yahrrrrr!"

"One more pirate thing and I will kill you," Sam warned.

"He found a mural, you remember, of course, the one that depicts the big mother fucking Meteor taking out the world and stuff," Sorin said, "you know, just before Aeris dies."

"We get the picture," Cid said.

Sorin laughed, everyone looked at him.

"It's just funny you'd use that word," Sorin said laughing, "you know: _picture_. Because the mural is like a picture…it's a pun…you know…it's…" you could almost hear the crickets chirping in the background, "…ah, okay, well, anyways the mural doesn't say anything about a Meteor."

"It's not even a fucking omen," Cid growled.

Sorin laughed again. Everyone looked at him.

"Now, you see that was funny," Sorin laughed, "because the first time you went to the Temple of Ancients and you saw the mural you said that, remember? You guys were…and then you said: it's not even a fu…" Sorin looked around, "…hm, yes, well the mural is somehow different. I'm not sure exactly how, that's why we need to meet Wymond."

"Why are we going to the Temple of the Ancients in this existence then?" asked Tifa.

"To see if the mural has changed," Sam said, "if it's different here we can conclude it was the fault of a paradox. If a paradox caused it then it was caused by a Paradoxer, and if it was caused by a Paradoxer then this must all be the product of a paradox."

"That's called a _transitive property_," Sorin said matter-of-factly.

The Shera set down near the Temple.

"Vincent, Sam and I will go in first," Sorin said, "after we've cleared it you two follow."

"Why do we gotta wait for you?" asked Cid.

Sorin smiled, "Because if we run into your friendly red dragon…or that crazy Face in the Wall dude again, you won't be able to kill them."

"The paradox will have altered the creatures," Sam elaborated, "being Cetra we have an advantage, Vincent would do most of the work here, as he's the only one that isn't vulnerable."

"We'll signal you as soon as it's clear," Vincent said.

With no more protests, the three got off and headed into the Temple.

"Blast from the past, no?" asked Sorin. "I guess it depends if they found you in the basement or not yet."

Vincent looked at Sorin curiously.

"Square kind of made it hard to find you, dude, I mean, honestly, who wants to go through all the trouble of finding the combination…killing the monster, getting the key and Odin…" Sorin said.

"Sorin," Sam cut him off. "Is now the best time for this?"

"Sorry, Jack," Sorin replied.

Vincent stared at both of them confused.

They found their way to the maze of stairs and buildings that led to the inner Temple area.

"Guess you wouldn't remember the pattern on how to get in, eh?" asked Sorin.

Vincent shook his head.

"Gimme a minute," Sam said, closing his eyes.

"Loophole?" asked Vincent.

"Of course," Sorin replied.

"Of course," Vincent said.

"Okay, here we go," Sam said.

The three of them were gone, and swiftly reappeared in front of the mural.

Vincent looked around; it was just as he'd remembered it. The Black Materia floated off to his right down the hall.

"Whadda ya say, Vincent, look the same to you?" asked Sorin.

Vincent looked at the mural, from what he could remember it looked identical. Vincent nodded.

"Let's get more opinions, Sam, go get our friends," Sorin said.

Sam disappeared.

"I understand this is where trouble really began for you," Sorin said.

Vincent looked at him, "Trouble began for me a long time before this."

Sorin smiled, "I suppose that's true, what I meant was Aeris."

Vincent nodded, "This was just before it happened."

"We all felt it," Sorin said quietly, "the end of our kind, solidifying."

"Yet you all keep coming back from the dead," Vincent muttered.

"Well, as long as it's not in Centre Time," Sorin replied, "otherwise this bullshit happens. Thanks to Sam all this has come about, if it wasn't for me he'd be getting his ass kicked for causing this much trouble."

"You're protecting him?" asked Vincent.

"Sam is a very talented Cetra," Sorin replied. "It'd be a terrible waste. The Elders don't understand that, they've been dead for a while and don't understand much. Sometimes you have to go against protocol to get things done."

"I'm sure that's true," Vincent agreed.

"When Sam sent Cloud and Aeris off to another existence, which is God knows where, so they could be together," Sorin began, "why didn't you think to ask for an existence where Lucrecia wasn't in a crystal?"

"Why are you asking me this?" asked Vincent.

"Because it would have been a logical question for you to ask, Sam could have done it, I'm sure," Sorin replied. "He could have found a place where you and she were together still, why didn't you ask?"

"I don't know," Vincent replied quietly.

Sorin grinned, "You don't?"

"No," Vincent answered.

"Well, then," Sorin said, "did you ever consider, deep down, you knew you had a purpose still and couldn't leave to another existence like Cloud and Aeris due to this purpose?"

Vincent looked between Sorin and the mural, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm asking if you considered it," Sorin replied.

"The last time I ever really had a purpose was when I had vowed to kill Hojo," Vincent said.

"Have you considered the time of Cloud and Aeris is over, maybe it's Vincent's time to shine? That kind of thing?" asked Sorin.

"If you're going to be cryptic, will you at least tell me what you're talking about?" asked Vincent.

"Don't worry," Sorin replied, "you'll find out."

Sam reappeared with Tifa and Cid.

"How much do you two remember of the mural?" asked Sorin.

Cid looked it over, "Yeah, it's the same."

"If it has any differences they must be very small, I remember it vividly," Tifa added.

"Alright," Sam said, "so either it wasn't caused by a Paradoxer, or just not by _this _Paradoxer."

"That doesn't really tell us anything," Vincent muttered.

"That, people, is where Wymond comes in," Sorin said, "Sam, back to the ship; we're going to meet Wymond."

‡

The Shera shot forward, sending everyone flying off their feet except Sorin and Sam.

"They still haven't got their existence traveling legs yet," Sam explained.

"It does take some getting used to," Sorin agreed.

Cid pulled himself to his feet and grabbed the controls again, "Same spot?"

Sorin nodded, "Onward and forward, Captain."

The Shera didn't have to travel far; Sam had dropped them off very close to the Temple of the Ancients. When they caught sight of it, they realized it was indeed a much darker black colour. As if the Black Materia itself had eaten it.

"Wymond is waiting for us at the mural," Sorin said.

Cid landed the Shera and Sam suddenly had everyone standing in front of the mural.

No Wymond.

"Where is he?" asked Sam.

"Walking around maybe, he'll return shortly," Sorin said, "while we wait, why don't I take care of that eye for you?"

Sam nodded, Cid, Tifa and Vincent looked at the clearly different mural while Sorin quickly healed Sam's damaged right eye. It was back to normal, as if it had never been damaged at all.

Sam blinked hard a few times and shook his head.

"That strange thing you're seeing," Sorin said, "that's called _depth perception_."

"Shut up," Sam growled.

"Sorry, Jack," Sorin said, taking the eye patch and throwing it on the ground.

"You made it," said a voice that echoed down the hall toward them, Wymond.

"Where'd you go to?" asked Sam.

"I thought I'd check out the rest of the Temple," Wymond replied walking toward them.

In the light he looked extremely similar to Sephiroth, whom Tifa, Cid and Vincent had seen in this hallway before.

"Have you deciphered the mural?" asked Sorin.

Wymond nodded, "It's not good news."

"It never is," Cid muttered.

"It speaks of something called Redemption," Wymond began, "what exactly this thing is…a person…maybe an ideal, I'm not sure. What I can say is it is bent on taking a sort of revenge on existence travelers like yourselves."

"Why?" asked Sam.

"I don't know," Wymond said.

"What do you know?" asked Tifa.

Wymond looked at her, "Redemption's first move."

"Which is?" asked Sam.

"Recreation of the Bane of all Cetra," Wymond replied.

"Who's that exactly?" asked Vincent.

"It isn't one person," Sam said. "The Bane of all Cetra includes every person or creature that had ever been a danger to the Cetra. Whoever Redemption, whatever Redemption, is it or they want to bring back anything that can kill Cetra…even after they're already dead."

"Some of the Bane are considered to be such characters as Feardorcha of the Outcasts, Sephiroth, Hojo, and not a person, but most notably…" Sorin said.

Wymond finished it for him, "The Ancient Black."


	13. Waiting

**Chapter 13**

**Waiting**

Sorin sat back in one of the chairs on the bridge of the Shera. He watched Tifa run by and stop to talk to Vincent who was staring blankly out the front viewing area of the ship.

Sorin knew nothing could be done until the information Wymond was getting was relayed. Until then, they could only wait. When Sorin had to wait, he did what he always did, he observed. He liked to watch people, especially actually _living_ people, unlike himself, what they do, how they act. How people have changed over the years, down to every last detail. How their eyes move when they're told something, even how they look from behind, just a movement of hips, shoulders, perhaps, that can relay information on what they're being told, good or bad news. Whether they actually care or not, it was all sort of a hobby for him, some collected stamps, some built things, Sorin observed, watched people…as a product of hundreds of years of this he could actually tell more about a person by watching them than talking to them.

He watched Tifa in particular; he stared quite obviously at her, with her back turned to him while talking to Vincent. Nobody was watching Sorin, but if anyone had been they may have gotten the misconception that Sorin was staring at Tifa, when in fact he was more focused on her body language than her. In truth, Sorin hadn't stared at a woman for the pleasure of staring at a woman for a very long time…being dead will do that. He'd long since stopped staring at people for the usual reasons, and started doing it out of interest alone.

Though the woman wasn't facing him, he could pick up on a lot of the conversation between Vincent and herself. Even the things she wasn't necessarily saying out loud.

Sorin noticed that whenever she talked to Vincent she always had a different stature. When she talked to Cid, or Wymond, or Sorin himself, she would stand as she usually does. Stand like a person with a lot of hidden power, a person that could probably break every bone in your body…which, potentially, she could. When she talked to Vincent, however, she seemed to let her guard down almost. As if she was almost anxious to open up to him. Knowing the type of person she was, she probably believed being open herself meant that Vincent would be. Knowing the type of person _he _was, Sorin knew this was not the case. In fact Sorin was fairly certain Vincent was somewhat annoyed by Tifa's open attitude. Then again, it didn't matter who talked to Vincent, he always seemed to want to get rid of any kind of conversation anyways.

It was her reaction with Sam that Sorin really enjoyed trying to decipher.

It was not so clear cut; it appeared, about how she considered him. They got along like great friends, most of the time she held the same stature as she did with Cid and himself, but then there were times we she would open up like she did with Vincent. Then there were periods where she seemed an erratic hybrid of both. Such non-linear reactions could be determined many ways, none of which Sorin could actually decide on by observation alone. Sometimes you did actually have to ask the question for it to be answered.

Sorin did enjoy such riddles, though. There were so many possible outcomes and underlying reasons with body language that is was almost more enjoyable than the simple act of conveying emotions and thoughts through talking. Tone of voice, writing, simple spoken words, all pieces of the same very complicated puzzle. It was appearance, body language, interaction distance, all the non-verbal means of communication that were the very basis of communication itself. If you spend as much time as Sorin did on learning how to read the non-verbal aspect, you could almost live the rest of your life without talking.

Sorin took many scenarios from Tifa's reaction to Sam. One most prominent was attraction, either love or lust, the two had very little difference in Sorin's mind. Whether love was a simple subject in itself was an argument for another hypothetical situation. Though attraction would explain the erratic body language, it would have been the most practical reasoning behind it. The complications of Sam actually being dead, possibly the fact Tifa still loved Cloud who had long since belonged to another, possibly a third scenario Sorin was unaware of, a combination of many…or possibly none at all.

Sometimes you have to ask the question to get the answer.

But Sorin did like riddles.

"You see something I don't?" asked Sam standing beside Sorin's chair.

Sorin looked slowly from Tifa and up to his fellow Cetra, "I think it's possible we see the same thing, possibly something completely different, or we could be looking at the same object and not with the same perception."

"Or maybe you're really the only one looking, and I'm trying too hard to find what you're looking at that I look through it without seeing it," Sam replied.

Sorin grinned, "I believe we've both been bitten by a _Were_metaphor."

"Nah, I'm just naturally very philosophical," Sam muttered.

"I was staring at nothing, my friend, just observing," Sorin answered finally.

"Vincent or Tifa?" asked Sam.

"What makes you think it's one of them?" asked Sorin.

"Because you don't observe inanimate objects, Cid's behind you, I'm right here, 'nuf said," Sam said.

Sorin nodded, "A good point, actually I was watching both."

"Anything interesting?" asked Sam.

"No more than usual, so much has changed though, since you and I were alive," Sorin said, "our lives have taken such a turn that we've left behind the simplicities of this world."

"I wouldn't exactly call what we do very simple, no," Sam agreed.

"It's much more complicated being the one that is supposed to know how to run the world, keep those that live alive still," Sorin said, "I can see where the Outcasts were coming from."

"They're ideals had merit, but you and I both know there's no way to bring back the Cetra without creating a paradox," Sam replied, "we let Aeris off the hook and look at this mess. It's probably my fault these Paradoxers are getting access to the Bane of all Cetra."

Sorin shook his head, "Perhaps, but I don't believe the fault is solely yours. I'm sure the Elders would love to blame you, but that's simply for the convenience of someone to blame. Finding the real culprit could take more time than an Elder is willing to give. Such is why I keep them in the dark."

"Such is why I'm still running around causing havoc," Sam chuckled.

"Also true," Sorin said, "but then that's my fault now, isn't it?"

"When we save the world and all existence…" Sam paused, "…_again_, I'm sure they won't mind."

"So at what point am I allowed to ask about you and Tifa?" asked Sorin.

"What about us?" asked Sam.

Sorin looked at him, "I've been observing people for hundreds of years, my friend, don't ask such questions."

"There's nothing to ask about," Sam said, "friends don't let friends date dead guys."

Sorin laughed, "I've never heard that one before."

"I just made that up now."

"Masterful," Sorin commented.

"Thank you."

‡

Wymond stepped into the City of the Ancients and looked around, it was blackened as well, just like the Temple of the Ancients.

"What is happening?" murmured Wymond.

He walked and observed the area around him until he came to the stairs that led down to the infamous altar. Likewise, everything there had gone black, as if being infected. The only conclusion Wymond could come up with was a side-effect of paradoxes. According to Sorin there had been a record amount recently, caused by the Paradoxers, and they could have been causing the strange effects.

He wasn't here to get answers about that, though, he had to ask his contact another question. Wymond had managed to get in contact with a person in another existence that was able to track these Paradoxers better than even Sorin could. This person was off the grid and even Elders couldn't track them. The only reason Wymond could was because he had known them before all the drama with Sam and the Outcasts had begun. Sorin had instructed Wymond to keep the contact secret for now, due to possible repercussions if the Elders discovered who the contact was. For now, only Wymond and Sorin were to know who was feeding them information.

Wymond stood at the edge and stared down into the water that surrounded the altar. He jumped in and floated a foot or two below the surface, eyes closed. He had used this same method to get a message to Aeris across existences using his telepathic connection with her. The Cetra magic still in the liquid allowed him to create a sort of powerful telephone wire to connect with others for sending and receiving messages.

"_Hello Wymond_," said the voice of his contact in his head.

"Have you found him?" asked Wymond through his thoughts.

"_No, but I found someone who might know his position_," the contact replied.

"Good," Wymond said, the contact told him where to find the person, "are you alright?"

The contact seemed to giggle a little, it echoed in Wymond's head, "_You know me, Wymond; I've survived much worse than Cetra Elders_."

Wymond cut the connection and broke the surface of the water, pulling himself on to the altar, dripping with water.

Wymond thought about where his contact had told him to go to find the person they were looking for.

Wymond returned to the Shera, dripping water profusely on the bridge.

"What's the story?" asked Sorin, standing up from his chair.

Wymond nodded, water droplets flew from his hair as he did, "We have our destination."


	14. Teleran

**Chapter 14**

**Teleran **

The Shera appeared out of nowhere, now with its ability to cloak, however, no one actually saw the craft appear out of nowhere. Save those on board.

"What'd she say?" asked Sorin.

Wymond looked to him, "Told me about a person named Teleran, somehow connected to the Paradoxer we're looking for."

"Who's _she_?" asked Cid.

Sorin waved his hand dismissively, "A contact who wishes to remain anonymous, she's a trusted source. Did she say where to look exactly?"

Wymond nodded, "Start at Nibelheim, work our way to Midgar, that's what I was told."

"That's a general area," Sam commented, "your contact must be watching this guy."

"She's become active in Sorin's clean up job for a while now, it wouldn't surprise me she'd be able to keep tabs on him," Wymond replied.

"Nibelheim it is," Cid muttered and set the ship toward their destination.

"She also wanted me to say that this existence sports a very mean version of Shinra," Wymond said.

"Meaner than the original?" asked Tifa.

"Much worse," Sorin said, nodding, "I'm aware of our enemy's disposition. If we have to fight them then we will, otherwise we avoid them. We just want this Teleran, that's all."

"Even I'm in the dark here, Sorin, why are we looking for this guy?" asked Sam.

"The paradoxes that have been showing up lately, they're becoming far too abundant to be side-effects of your forays, Sam. We know there's been a re-surfacing of Paradoxers, our only option is to track down as many of these Paradoxers as we can before they disappear again. One must have some idea of what's going on, maybe what Redemption is, why they decided to try and bring about the destruction of all things living, you know, the usual stuff."

"Seems like that's all we do," Cid murmured.

"Vincent and I will disembark and check Nibelheim, it's a small area, if we can't find him we'll return and we move on. If we do find him, then it ends there," Sorin said.

"What if he tries something?" asked Tifa.

"Well, we know he'll try something," Sorin said shrugging, "it's just a matter of getting him before he does."

The Shera came to a hover a few metres from Nibelheim.

"We'll return shortly with or without our target," Sorin said.

Vincent and Sorin appeared to fall out of the sky, if anyone had been looking at the time, it would seem the two materialized out of thin air. They walked the distance to Nibelheim and entered. The town appeared to be almost abandoned, the occasional passer by betrayed its empty appearance.

"Bustling town as ever," Sorin muttered.

"Where do we start?" asked Vincent.

Sorin pointed, "The Inn, if Teleran was staying he must have slept."

They entered the Inn. There was a man at the desk in front, they moved toward him. Just as they were about to speak, two people came down the stairs and walked toward the door.

One had spiked black hair and a large sword, the other with long white hair and a longer sword.

"Hm," Sorin muttered, "see I thought they were both dead."

Vincent looked at Sorin, "Should I ask?"

"Probably a paradox, yes."

Vincent said nothing.

Sorin turned his attention to the man at the desk, "Any idea what those follows are here for?"

The man nodded, "Something about monsters, problem with the Mako Reactor in the mountains or something. 'Bout time Shinra decided to do something, the bastards."

"Actually we were hoping to find someone here," Sorin continued, "we're looking for a man by the name of Teleran."

"Who are you?" asked the desk man suspiciously.

Vincent showed no reaction, but his head was racing for some kind of plausible lie.

Sorin had one, "Freelance bounty hunters, he's a rogue Shinra worker. Some are saying he's responsible for the problems with the reactor here, I hadn't expected to see people here to fix the problem."

"It's been a problem for a while, but don't know anyone by the name Teleran," the desk man said.

Sorin smiled, "Are you sure?"

The man nodded, "Never heard of him."

"Very well," Sorin said, staring at the desk man somewhat oddly, "thank you for your help."

Vincent and Sorin stepped outside.

"He's lying," Sorin said immediately.

Vincent looked at the Cetra curiously, "What?"

"I can tell, he knows Teleran," Sorin said, "he's lying."

Vincent decided not to question him, "How do we get it out of him?"

"We hadn't considered the fact Teleran might integrate himself into the society," Sorin muttered.

"What are you suggesting?" asked Vincent.

Vincent followed Sorin's gaze across town to the two men who had just left the Inn.

"Both dead, yes?" muttered Sorin.

"You think this Teleran made himself look like one of them?" asked Vincent.

"Or both," Sorin said. "Here's how we go about this."

Sorin snapped his fingers and suddenly both he and Vincent were dressed like Shinra soldiers, blue-clad with the standard issue automatic rifles.

"When you walk up, salute and stay quiet," Sorin said, "when I make my move follow my lead."

Vincent nodded, they approached the two SOLDIERS.

They stopped and saluted in unison.

"Don't walk on the suspension bridge, it collapses," Sorin said blatantly. The two SOLDIERS looked at him curiously.

"Yes, Teleran," Sorin continued, "we know all about what happens at the reactor."

For a moment both SOLDIERS were silent. Then all at once both were gone and a single person stood in their place. He had short brown hair and still wore the same clothing as Sephiroth.

"Who are you?" asked the man who must have now been Teleran.

Sorin removed the disguise along with Vincent's.

"Sorin Tether, you don't know me," Sorin replied, "but we need to talk. That multiple person disguise was very clever, but a common paradox disguise. Who's running this little show, eh?"

"You a Cetra?" asked Teleran.

"Possibly, but that doesn't really matter, does it?" asked Sorin.

Teleran gave Vincent and Sorin a look each, and then sprinted off to his right.

"I think he's running," Vincent said deadpan.

"I get that vibe," Sorin agreed. "I'll follow; you try and cut him off."

Vincent jumped and shot up into the air, Sorin gave chase.

Teleran wasn't much faster than Sorin but he did have a head start.

"My friend, this is quite unnecessary," Sorin yelled, Teleran wasn't stopping, he ran right out of Nibelheim.

Sorin was a few feet away when Teleran tossed an object on the ground, the grassy field around Sorin suddenly became black. Then there was nothing to stand on, he would have fallen into nothingness, but Sorin managed to jump just out of the area of the strange darkness. Sorin picked himself up and looked at the large dark hole that encompassed the area in front of him.

"Well, now that is a very serious piece of paradox weaponry, who's supplying you Teleran, I wonder?" Sorin muttered. He detoured around the large hole and still managed to keep up with Teleran, his target was much farther away now, though.

Sorin flicked his wrist and the ground seemed to shoot upward in front of Teleran, as if a wall of earth just shot upward. The man ran face first into it. He fell on his back groaning.

"Now you didn't think you were the only one who could mess with existences did you?" asked Sorin walking up to his fallen target.

Teleran sat up, "No, and neither did Kyra, that's why she gave me this."

Teleran held up a white spherical object.

"Kyra?" asked Sorin, "you don't work for Terret?"

"You know your Paradoxers, you really are a Cetra I suppose," Teleran said, "Terret has been dead for a long time."

"Since when?" asked Sorin.

"Like I said, a long time," Teleran threw the spherical object on the ground and there was a large white flash. Sorin jumped back with his hands over his eyes.

Sorin looked around a moment later. He was standing in the middle of Midgar, vehicles and people buzzing by. Teleran had teleported him away.

"Hm," Sorin muttered, looking around, "well, this is inconvenient."

Sorin wandered along the streets, he wasn't sure exactly what sector he was in at the moment but it was clearly the slums. He walked across the road, avoiding vehicles that had no regard for pedestrians. All manners of lowlifes wandered back and forth, Sorin passed through them as if he were a spirit. He headed down a sidewalk; he didn't by any means expect to accidentally run into Teleran. The man had teleported him away; he wasn't going to follow him to Midgar. It would also take Sorin far too long to walk back to where Teleran had been, it was up to the others now.

Sorin almost ran into someone stepping out of a back alley, he stopped in time to avoid them by inches.

"Sorry my dear, amazing how crowded these streets get," Sorin said amiably, recognizing who he was talking to.

She smiled at him, "That's alright; I shouldn't have come walking out of the alley like that without looking."

Sorin stuck out his hand, "Sorin Tether, a pleasure. How much for a flower?"

The girl smiled and held up the flowers she was carrying, "Sales have been bad, I'm thinking of lowering it to One Gil."

Sorin materialized the money and bought one of her flowers, "Magnificent, amazing you can still find things like these in Midgar."

"They're very rare," she agreed, "I'm Aeris by the way."

Sorin smelled the flower and slipped it into an inside pocket in his dark red coat, "I know."


	15. A Recurring Theme

**Chapter 15**

**A Recurring Theme**

The dull echo of the explosion probably should have surprised Sorin as much as it surprised Aeris. There was one crucial difference between the two; however, Sorin knew it was coming.

"What was that?" asked Aeris, looking around in confusion along with many other Midgar residents.

"Wild guess," Sorin said, "Mako Reactor exploding."

Aeris looked at him curiously, "What makes you say that?"

"I know some people who might or might not be spending some time inside a Mako Reactor," Sorin said cryptically.

"AVALANCHE?" asked Aeris.

Sorin smiled, "And here I thought I was the one who knew everything."

"Everyone's heard of them," she said.

"It might get a bit dangerous around here soon; you should probably get going," Sorin said and stepped back a few feet.

Aeris turned to talk to him but caught sight of someone else instead. A fellow in a SOLDIER get up with spiked hair. He gave her the same warning.

"Cloud, my friend, if you only knew," Sorin murmured. He stepped back up beside Aeris and said, "someone you know?"

She looked after the man curiously, "I don't think so. He looks familiar."

"Really, from where?"

Aeris smiled, "Maybe a past life."

"He doesn't remind you of your boyfriend perhaps?" asked Sorin.

"Zack," Aeris said quietly, then turned and looked at Sorin, "you know him?"

"I know a lot of people," Sorin replied.

"I haven't seen Zack in a long time, he's not really my…" Aeris muttered. "Wait, how did you know he was my boyfriend?"

"If anyone would know that there are some things in this world that can't be explained, it's you," Sorin said.

Aeris shook her head, "Who are you?"

"As I said: Sorin T—"

"No," Aeris cut him off, "I mean _what _are you?"

"A human being, what are you?" retorted Sorin.

"Sometimes I'm not quite sure," Aeris replied quietly, "but that's not what I mean."

"You mean occupation?" asked Sorin, gesturing for her to follow him, he noticed some people in uniform starting to move.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Shinra," Sorin said, "they wear black now?"

The men were in the same uniform but were black instead of the blue Sorin was used to.

"Haven't they always?" asked Aeris.

"I wouldn't know, I'm not from around here," Sorin replied.

Aeris stared at him as they walked, as if trying to figure him out, there were things that just seemed…_off_ about him.

"Where are you from?" asked Aeris, they walked into the dark alley she had come out of and almost bumped into him. Generally, she wouldn't even think about walking into a dark alley with a stranger, but there was also this overbearingly friendly disposition coming from the man she found it hard to be nervous around him.

"Far off, I'm a traveler by nature," Sorin replied, "something of an adventurer, learning what I can as I do. I was particularly interested in this place because of some of the legends I'd heard."

"Such as?" asked Aeris.

"Namely," Sorin replied, "the Ancients."

Aeris seemed surprised, "The Ancients?"

"Or Cetra, if you prefer, yes their stories have become somewhat widespread, but unfortunately far too late. I hear there are none left. Not that I particularly believe everything I hear."

The thought that maybe this man was some kind of Shinra spy, an undercover Turk, perhaps, trying a different tactic toward the goal of capturing her. She immediately moved a few inches farther away from him.

"They say there's one left," Aeris said carefully.

"Really?" asked Sorin. "I'd heard there were two, actually."

"Two?" asked Aeris.

"Well, yes," Sorin said, the second one was himself…if you looked past the fact he was dead…sort of. "I'd heard one was here in Midgar, that Shinra was hunting her."

"Her?" she asked, getting a little more nervous.

"A flower girl, if I'm not mistaken," Sorin said.

"Who told you this?" asked Aeris, preparing herself to fight back if the man made a move.

"No one, just my powers of observation," Sorin said, "like perhaps the two Shinra soldiers following us, and the Turk waiting at the end of the alley."

Aeris looked behind her; two black-clad soldiers with automatic rifles were indeed a few feet behind. Ahead, there was definitely a Turk.

"So you are, then, a Cetra?" asked Sorin, remaining oddly calm.

"Are you with Shinra?" she asked, looking for some kind of escape.

"My God, of course not," Sorin laughed, "if I were here to help them, would I be talking to you?"

Sorin abruptly stopped and elbowed one quickly approaching Shinra in the helmet. The attack was impossibly strong, considering no normal elbow could punch through the visor of the helmet and completely shatter the glass. Knocking the soldier inside unconscious, Sorin rubbed his elbow, "Admittedly, that did hurt a bit."

The second soldier realized what happened and aimed his gun; Sorin grabbed the barrel and spun the weapon out of the soldier's hands, using the spinning momentum to smash the soldier with the butt of the weapon.

Both soldiers were on the ground.

"Black uniform, blue uniform, same idiots," Sorin said in a sing-song voice.

Aeris looked on in shock. Sorin looked down the alley and saw the Turk coming toward them.

"Excuse me, sir," Sorin said amiably. "Reno, I would guess?"

"Who're you?" asked the Turk.

"Pardon the cliché," Sorin said aiming the rifle, "I'm your worst nightmare."

Reno managed to somehow jump aside and avoid Sorin's bullets. Killing Reno would create such a paradox that even Sorin didn't want to bother with the repercussions. The Turk was busy enough with getting away from Sorin's gun that there was no need to kill him.

Aeris and Sorin were out of the alley and clear.

"Why did you do that?" asked Aeris.

"Because you're a Cetra, the last, as I hear it," Sorin said, "and I dislike Shinra. Plus you're just such a nice girl, it would be unfitting if you were to go with Shinra."

Aeris could only smile, "Come on, I know somewhere safe we can go."

"Not the church I hope?" asked Sorin.

"No, they'd figure I'd go…" Aeris paused, "…how do you know about my church?"

"It's the only place flowers grow here in Midgar, and you are a flower girl," Sorin explained.

Aeris' reply was caught in her throat.

"Shall we?" said Sorin gesturing for Aeris to keep moving.

Sorin followed Aeris, not bothering with his surroundings. If he wanted to leave, knowing directions wouldn't be necessary. It had been so long since he had been to Midgar that knowing the Sector numbers and whatnot would be tough. He did recognize where they were headed well enough.

"We have to stop by my place first, and then we can go," Aeris said.

"Very well," Sorin said, they went through the small market and passed into the area where Aeris' house stood.

"This is where I live, outside of the church," Aeris said.

"Very nice," Sorin commented, he had seen it before, though.

"Thank you," she said, opening the door. "Mom, I'm home!"

An older woman came out of the kitchen to greet Aeris and noticed Sorin.

"Someone followed you home?" asked the woman who Sorin assumed to be Elmyra Gainsborough. He smiled at the comment. He knew that when Cloud would appear at the home, Elmyra would make the comment: "you mean someone followed you home again." Did that then conclude the _again_ must have been somehow referring to Sorin Tether, a man, a Cetra, that could not have possibly been alive during the time of Cloud and Aeris?

A question better left unanswered.

"Hello, you must be Aeris' mother," Sorin greeted, "I'm Sorin Tether, I noticed your daughter here was having some trouble selling her flowers so I decided to give her some assistance. I wanted to make sure she returned home safely."

"You were attacked by Shinra again, weren't you?" Elmyra asked, ignoring Sorin.

"I assure you, ma'am, if there had been such an encounter, I would have seen it. There was no attack by the Shinra," Sorin said.

"Who exactly are you?" she asked.

Sorin looked at Aeris and smiled, "You get your questions from your mother, I see. I'm something of a traveller, I'm interested in some of the stories I hear coming from these lands, about the Cetra. I'd heard there was one here in Midgar, that is how I came across your Aeris."

Elmyra immediately looked suspicious, but said, "Thank you."

"It's not a problem, though it does appear I found what I was looking for anyhow," Sorin said. "I realize such a secret must be something of a burden."

Elmyra said nothing.

"I assure you, people who know, know already, those who don't will not hear it from me. I'm just interested, that's all," Sorin said disarmingly.

"Can I get you something, Mr. Tether, a drink?" asked Elmyra.

Sorin smiled, "No, I should be going soon, actually. I wanted to be sure our Cetra here had no problems."

"How did you find out she was a—" Elmyra was cut off by a loud banging at the door.

"Ms. Gainsborough, open the door," ordered a familiar voice.

"Reno," Aeris whispered.

Sorin lifted his rifle, "They're very persistent aren't they?"

Elmyra looked at Sorin.

"I'm on your side, I assure you," Sorin said, "is there another way out of here?"

"A window," Elmyra said, "Aeris, quickly."

Aeris looked at Sorin, "Be careful."

"Aeris, I fear you will not see me again," Sorin said, she looked surprised, "take this bit of knowledge with you as you leave: the Materia you wear, that appears to have no use, it may become very important in the near future. Maybe even to save the world…don't overlook it."

Aeris touched the White Materia in her hair absently.

"Upstairs, Aeris!" Elmyra said forcefully.

There was more banging and yelling at the door. Aeris gave Sorin one last look before running upstairs.

"Ah, the younger generation," Sorin said to himself, "damn shame they live in a world such as this. If only I could have taken care of your mother a bit better, my dear. If only."

The door burst open and three dark-clad Shinra jumped in.

"Hello, my friends," Sorin said amiably. "The residents are a bit busy right now, anything I can help you with?"

"Where's the Ancient?" asked Reno, stepping up behind the soldiers.

"He's standing in front of you," Sorin said smiling, "figure that one out."

Sorin didn't give them a chance to, he opened fire. The three soldiers out front were dead instantly, Reno took a bullet to the right leg and fell to the ground.

"For a meaner version of Shinra, you're not very impressive," Sorin said, walking past them casually. He was long gone before Reno could do anything about it.

Sorin ditched the gun as he walked through the small market. He considered heading out to try and help the others find Teleran if they hadn't already. Instead, he decided he'd just stick around here. He was no help to them here, but he was also not much help out there either. They could handle it.

In the meantime, Sorin reflected on his short little adventure with the young Cetra that was to be the last of her kind. The end would come with her, as well as the key to life for the others…and that was really the purpose of the Cetra, wasn't it? The entire purpose and the recurring theme in their lives had always been sacrifice for the greater good. When they didn't, when they became selfish, they were an absolute plague on all existences. The Outcasts were the pinnacle of Cetra weakness. They were a powerful race, too powerful.

Possibly born and bred simply to die and return to the Lifestream…as all things did.

Though Sorin did agree with the Outcasts on one point, it had all ended much too fast. And that Aeris Gainsborough was indeed a Queen among insects, why Sorin had never joined Fear and the Outcasts was a mystery. Sorin was always far too much of a goody-goody to be a rebellious soul in any case.

Samael, though, Sam was a badass…given…though a good person and unselfish in every aspect. The only reason he joined was for the woman he loved, and the woman he killed not so long after.

If people like Cloud had emotional scars, the Cetra had metaphorical _crevasses_.

Sorin had some time on his hands, he decided to mingle with the Midgar crowd. He talked to shop owners and bought things he'd never need, maybe in an effort to pretend he was again a living being, instead of a dead Cetra.

Among other things, Sorin contemplated the task that was at hand. The Bane of all Cetra was a very real threat, and if they didn't find who was behind it all, there was going to be one hell of a firestorm. He also knew this existence was like any other that was controlled by a Paradoxer, it was modified in some way. Possibly building up to a sort of role play, based on a movie, or book, video game. It was proven that Paradoxers like Alessa were getting increasingly more creative and dangerous.

"Oh my God!" screamed someone in the distance. There were subsequent screams that followed after.

"What's happening?" asked a random man standing beside Sorin.

Sorin shrugged, "Nothing good, I'm sure."

"It never is," said the man.

Sorin followed the crowd to where the screams originated. Someone came running in his direction, screaming something hysterically.

All Sorin caught was, "…must be…side-effect of explosion…walking…killing…zombies."

The man was by in a flash.

Sorin caught the last word.

"Zombies?" asked the man beside him.

Sorin looked up in the sky, "Someone's a George A. Romero fan, I'm sure."

"Jesus, what's that?" cried the man.

Something terribly disfigured and missing most of its leg was stumbling in their direction.

"Mako zombie," Sorin muttered, "I can see that my patience is about to be sorely tested."


	16. See Teleran Run

**Chapter 16**

**See Teleran Run**

Sam leaned against a wall to catch his breath; he looked up and saw Vincent standing calmly in front of him.

"This guy's starting to piss me off," Sam growled, shaking his head.

Teleran had been running them all around for the past few hours. They'd already lost Sorin to somewhere, and almost lost sight of Teleran multiple times. This time he escaped to Corel where he was now on the transport up to the Golden Saucer. This forced Vincent and Sam to wait for it to return before they could give chase.

"He could already find a way off the Saucer by the time we arrive," Vincent commented. Unlike Sam he was in no way out of breath from all the running, in fact he was mostly the reason why they hadn't lost the man yet, Vincent was a very hard man to outrun.

Samael took a breath and his staff appeared in his right hand, "Let's take our own ride then, shall we?"

Suddenly, the Summon Phoenix appeared from the staff. It perched silently a few feet ahead in an open space, waiting for Sam.

"Hello chick-a-dee, long time no see, ready for another fly around?" asked Sam.

The Summon appeared to make no effort toward a response.

Sam jumped on Phoenix, "You got something against using Chaos?"

Vincent seemed to look uneasy when Sam mentioned Chaos; he jumped on Phoenix without answering.

"Alright, then," Sam said shrugging, "ride the fiery bird it is, I guess."

The Summon shot into the air and followed the black wires that marked the path of the transport. The shining Golden Saucer was already visible in the distance.

"So, I guess you aren't gonna tell me why you have a problem with Chaos suddenly?" asked Sam.

Vincent was silent for a moment, "Did you see what the Paradoxer did? Before I had to become Hellmasker?"

Sam nodded, "Granted, that was weird, separating an alter ego like that shows telekinetic ability. It isn't weird in the sense she can use telekinesis like that, hell, I can do the same thing to you if you really want me to. It's just the fact as far as I can remember Alessa had never actually been telekinetic. If it's what she did that worries you, don't worry."

"This from the person who didn't realize she had telekinetic abilities?" asked Vincent.

Sam nodded after a moment, "Touché."

"When she pulled Chaos out like that, I've only ever felt like that once before," Vincent said almost in a whisper.

"When Whatserface ripped the Protomateria out of you?" guessed Sam.

Vincent nodded.

"That's an entirely different scenario, my friend; maybe a Tsviet is capable of that, but a Paradoxer? Not only would it be very difficult, Alessa wouldn't gain anything from it. Omega Weapon would pose absolutely no advantage to any Paradoxer," Sam said.

"I suppose that's true," Vincent agreed.

"I know these Paradoxers can shake you up a bit, but try not to let them get to you, I need you clear headed here," Sam went on, "you're the only person who actually can't be killed. As soon as guys like Sorin and I step into these Paradoxer worlds we become vulnerable."

"Where do you think Sorin disappeared to, was it another Paradoxer trick?" asked Vincent.

Sam shook his head, "No, but I do think a Paradoxer might have supplied Teleran with what we Cetra call Existence-Warpers."

"Weapons that change the composition of existences?" asked Vincent.

Sam laughed, "Sometimes I wonder if you weren't a Cetra at some point."

"The name is self-explanatory," Vincent replied, "and I was a Turk, it's something of a job requirement to be obsessed with the Cetra."

"Being dead for a few years in that aspect might have left you a bit rusty though," Sam said, "I gotcha, one day it'll all come back and you'll be one really annoying smarta—" a huge explosion erupted a few feet in front of them, Phoenix let out a screech and immediately attempted to turn away from the ball of fire that expanded outward toward them.

The white-hot flames didn't dissipate; they seemed to get bigger, growing toward them.

"The hell is that?" Sam growled, struggling to stay on Phoenix's back as the Summon went into some very intricate evasive maneuvers.

"That's no normal explosion," Vincent said, "it's following us."

Sam looked back; the flames were creeping up on them.

"Must be Teleran, he knows we're following," Sam yelled. "Come on birdie, if you ever had to fly your best now's the time!"

Phoenix seemed to hear him and got a burst of speed. The flames were easily keeping pace.

"Oh shit," Sam muttered, another magnificent explosion erupted in front of them. "Get off, get off!"

Vincent saw the second wave of heat and flame heading toward them and knew Sam's option was the only one. Even though, granted, the explosion wouldn't kill him; standing in the middle of a firestorm was not exactly a pleasant experience.

Sam jumped a second after Vincent and quickly returned Phoenix to the staff. The dual balls of flame collided and hit nothing but each other.

Vincent landed with perfect balance on one of the black wires that ran the transport up to the Golden Saucer. He immediately looked around for Sam.

"Gerrronimoooo," came the yell from above, Vincent saw Sam coming down to his left. "Son of a bitch!" Vincent heard, as Sam missed the black wire and kept falling.

"Idiot," Vincent muttered and watched Sam disappear into the darkness below.

Sam and Sorin might become more vulnerable in Paradoxer existences, but Vincent knew they were no less powerful. Vincent began to walk along the black wire toward the Golden Saucer.

After a moment or two Sam came floating up beside him, legs crossed, eyes closed, and making a humming noise. "Hummmmmmmm,……hummmmmmm."

Vincent tried to ignore him.

"I have reached a state of inner peace through a strict regiment of Tai-chi and Extreme Yoga, that not even another explosion could break my concentration and remove me from a world of complete Nirvana," suddenly a small black bird, who obviously wasn't paying attention, smashed into the side of Sam's head sending him reeling in the air. The bird continued, shaken, on its way. "Fucking birds!"

Vincent shook his head, "The only nemesis to your concentration and the world of complete Nirvana, I gather?"

Sam floated on to the wire, just behind Vincent, he mumbled, "God damn birds."

The two made it to the Golden Saucer. The blue transport had made its return trip only minutes before they reached their destination, meaning they had once again succeeded in keeping up with their target.

They planted feet firmly at the entrance; Sam looked around, "Now where the hell is he?"

Vincent pointed at the unconscious door-woman on the ground. Teleran must have knocked her out when she tried to stop him from entering without a pass.

"My powers of deductive reasoning allow me to assume that means he's inside," Sam said.

"Well done," Vincent muttered.

"Elementary my dear tall dark and shadowy, elementary," Sam said, "let's go."

They entered the Golden Saucer and looked at all the holes which led to different areas.

"Could've gone through any one," Vincent said.

"Split up," Sam said and headed toward the hotel area.

Vincent nodded and headed toward the Chocobo racing area. They both reached their destinations.

Sam asked around and came up with nothing; obviously Teleran's first priority hadn't been a place to sleep.

Vincent appeared at his destination and looked around. Just the usual audience, he took a walk around, hoping to find Teleran trying to hide, maybe trying to blend in with the gambling crowd.

When he had no such luck he decided to try asking some people, maybe if they saw a man come running through as if being chased. No one had, which either meant he didn't come this way…or he hadn't been running when he did.

Vincent continued to look around. After a few more minutes he decided to go try the theatre area. He took a last glance at the Chocobos which were lining up for the race.

It was good Vincent looked again.

Immediately, Teleran charged on to the starting line and smashed one of the racers across the back of the head. The man fell off his mount and Teleran filled the seat. The black Chocobo was off and running.

"You are getting a bit annoying," Vincent murmured. He quickly made his way down to the starting line where one very nicely dressed racer had dismounted to see if the other racer was alright. Lucky for Vincent, the man left a gold Chocobo unattended.

Vincent was most definitely no expert on the creatures, but he knew one universal constant: gold was always faster than black…gold was faster than any colour.

Ignoring the rider's protests Vincent jumped on the Chocobo and gave chase. The creature didn't appear to realize he had been mounted by a complete stranger, the thing ran as if he were under the impression he was in the race still. Things blurred past, solid objects became misshapen, separate items melted together. It was amazing Vincent could actually see where he was going without crashing into things.

The black Chocobo was just ahead.

Teleran saw Vincent and jumped the Chocobo off the track, Vincent followed.

The two creatures crashed through different areas that were definitely not meant for Chocobos. They dodged past dropped items, and mostly confused people.

One, a lady, was so shocked by Vincent's oncoming Chocobo she froze in place.

Vincent cursed and tried to turn; the gold creature had another idea and simply shot into the air. They soared clear over the lady and even gained some ground on Teleran.

The gold Chocobo was much faster, but the obstacles prevented Vincent from utilizing full speed.

Vincent smiled a bit when he saw Sam.

Teleran was too busy looking back at Vincent, when he turned forward again he caught the figure of Samael smiling and waving before sticking out his staff and clothes lining him.

Teleran fell heavily to the ground with a loud crash, the black Chocobo kept running.

Vincent brought his steed to a halt and got off.

Teleran made an attempted to pull himself up but Sam cracked him over the head with the staff again, knocking him unconscious.

"I've had about enough of you, my friend," Sam growled at the unconscious Teleran.

Vincent stepped up beside Sam, "Now all we have to do is get him to talk."

Sam shook his head, "No…now we wake him up so I can smash him over the head again…_then _we make him talk."

Vincent looked at Sam, then down at Teleran, "That's alright, too, I suppose."


	17. Sigurd

-Hey, hey, sorry about the wait time, but I am back. School and a little game I like to call .Hack//G.U. Vol. 1, got in the way. Now that I've found some free time I'll try and remember where the heck I was in this story…onward.

**Chapter 17**

**Sigurd**

Sam and Vincent bought a room at the Golden Saucer and put the unconscious Teleran on the bed. There was no point restraining him. Teleran may have had weapons that could manipulate the existence around them, but Samael happened to be the master of messing with his surroundings, sometimes with disastrous results.

"How do we go about getting what we need?" asked Vincent.

Sam sat on the only small chair provided in the hotel room; Vincent opted to stand in a corner, arms crossed.

"Well, when he wakes up, we ask him," Sam said.

"If he doesn't co-operate?" asked Vincent.

"Then I improvise," Sam said. "I have a feeling giving up his boss won't be a problem."

"Do we know who his boss is, exactly?" asked Vincent.

"Theoretically," Sam replied, "a Paradoxer named Terret. Badass, almost as intelligent, and half as charming as I am."

Vincent stared for a moment, "Well, that's not a good sign."

"Guys like Teleran here are just thugs; he might be working for another Paradoxer altogether. Doesn't really matter…at this point all that matters is where we find the Paradoxer who's running the show here."

"What about your boss?" asked Vincent.

"You mean Sorin?" Sam shrugged. "I suppose this guy would know where he went to as well, yes. Sorin can take care of himself, the Paradoxer takes priority."

"You've dealt with Paradoxers before, I gather?" inquired Vincent.

"I've dealt with all manner of existence jumping, dimension altering and time splitting psychopaths," Sam muttered, "some only a little worse than myself."

"What makes you less evil than them?"

Sam smiled, "Nothing."

Teleran began to come to.

"He's awake," Vincent said.

"Morning sunshine," Sam greeted walking over to where Teleran lay, "sorry about the head. I realized if I didn't smash you with the stick you'd just keep on going with that nice man's Chocobo, and…well…we can't have that, now, can we?"

Teleran sat up, "The hell do you people want?"

"The Paradoxer, where is he?" asked Sam.

"I don't know what you mean," Teleran said unconvincingly.

"Does this count as un-co-operative?" asked Vincent.

Sam nodded, "Yes it does."

Sam smashed Teleran across the face with his staff again, "Maybe that knocked some information loose, let's try again."

Teleran muttered a curse and rubbed his cheek.

"Stick hurt when it hits face," Sam said, "live and learn…or at least live. Education really is a voluntary thing."

"It doesn't really matter if you find her or not, you're too late," Teleran said gruffly.

"Too late for what?" asked Sam.

"Kyra has begun her work," Teleran said smiling, "beginning her attack on those who oppress the Cetra."

Sam muttered something and shook his head, "Where do you guys come from? Everyone's freaking Neil Young for Christ sake."

Teleran looked at Sam confused.

"You know, Neil Young," Sam said, "pro-individuality…sings that song about…Ohio…never mind…look, my point is, I don't think I've ever seen so many consistently annoying Cetra back-from-the-dead activists in all my life. Ever since the Outcasts everyone's been all _bring back the Cetra_. They're dead and gone."

"You didn't seem to have any trouble letting one or two break the rules, though," Teleran replied.

Sam looked curious, "What's that mean?"

"It's bad enough you expected the Elders wouldn't find out, but you should have realized guys like the Paradoxers would. Aeris and her guardian, Wymond, their absence hasn't gone unnoticed."

"Who knows about it?" asked Sam.

"The Elders have already started searches for them, mostly guardians and the Sigurd."

Sam looked shocked, Vincent remained emotionless, but the show of surprise from Sam was unsettling.

"Sigurd?" asked Sam.

Teleran was smiling, "You didn't know, not fun…is it? Not being in control of your situation."

"Jesus, Aeris," Sam muttered.

"And her little boyfriend, too, I hear he's in trouble," Teleran said, "if they find Wymond I suppose they'd mess him up as well."

"That's extreme, the Elders are more conservative than that," Sam said.

"They're pissed," Teleran said, "wouldn't be surprised if they sent some guys after you, probably Sigurd, because they know guardians probably couldn't handle you. You might be happy to hear your buddy Sorin's off the hook, though. As long as he stays away from you."

"Where's Kyra?" asked Sam.

Teleran shrugged, "Somewhere in Midgar, that's where Sorin probably ended up too, though I can't be sure where the sphere teleported him. She knows the Elders might be checking here soon, she'll be gone in a day or so…probably before you get anywhere near her."

"Why are the Paradoxers trying to summon the Bane of all Cetra?" asked Sam.

This time Teleran looked surprised, "What are you talking about?"

"The Bane, we saw the mural, at the Temple of the Ancients, we know what the Paradoxers are up to."

Teleran laughed, "The Paradoxers _are_ Cetra you fool, they wouldn't gain anything, no one can control the Bane. You honestly think a Cetra, Paradoxer or not, would actually _want _to summon the Bane? The Ancient Black…Sephiroth…no one would gain anything, unless you're not a Cetra."

"Then who's doing it?" asked Sam.

Teleran shook his head, "You're delusional, my friend, those who know about the Bane are already dead, those who are still alive don't know, who fed you this crap?"

Sam looked troubled; he gave a quick glance at Vincent.

"Either the mural on the wall is wrong, or someone else knows how to summon the Bane," Sam muttered.

"No one is capable of that sort of thing, no one," Teleran said, "you're wrong."

"Rarely," Sam said, "rarely."

"If not the Paradoxers then who?" asked Vincent.

"As if we didn't have enough trouble before, now we have no idea who our enemy is and we've got some serious Cetra hunters after us," Sam growled.

"Hunters?" asked Vincent.

"The Sigurd," Teleran said, "are the metaphorical extension of the Elders' arms. They're the best, well-trained, soldiers that the dead Cetra have to offer. Generally, they're used as bounty hunters to bring back wayward souls such as Samael here."

Sam nodded, "They usually work in conjunction with guardians if a Cetra goes missing. Usually they can use a guardian to track down a Cetra, unfortunately for them; they're looking for the guardian they could have used against Aeris."

"Will they find her?" asked Vincent.

Sam laughed, "Probably, but not for a while, I even have trouble getting to where I put them."

"All the Sigurd need to do is get their hands on you, you know as well as I do they can get it out of you," Teleran said.

"Is Kyra—" Sam was cut off by a loud banging at the hotel room door.

"Open the door," came an authoritarian voice from the other side, clearly Shinra.

"Shinra," Vincent muttered.

"You can't run, Sam," Teleran said.

"Shadowy, get your gun out, if there's soldiers here it means they've got all manner of men and machine waiting for us, must have followed us up here," Sam said ignoring Teleran.

Vincent nodded and drew Cerberus.

"When I say go, we blast through that door before they get a chance to come in," Sam said, Vincent conveyed his understanding.

"You can't run," Teleran said again over the banging and yelling at the door, "even you don't want to become a renegade of the Cetra, you couldn't live that way."

Sam spun his staff in his hand nonchalantly and smiled at Teleran, "You wanna bet?"

Teleran hesitated at the response.

"Go," Sam yelled.

Vincent fired his gun and the door was blown outward, the two men sent black-clad soldiers flying off their feet left and right. Sam and Vincent charged down a hallway and made their way out of the hotel area, they didn't need Teleran anymore.

They stopped when they noticed the mass of soldiers a few feet ahead, and the sound of helicopters above and in the distance.

"Shinra's all over the Saucer," Vincent muttered.

Sam sighed, "This is gonna be a long night."


	18. Golden Battlefield

**Chapter 18**

**Golden Battlefield**

Sam and Vincent walked slowly down the hallway that led from their room to the exit. Naturally, they expected Shinra to have all exits blocked. Resistance would be there, whether they wanted it or not, so there really was no point in rushing.

"I'd just warp us out, but with a Paradoxer around I'm not sure that's a good idea," Sam said as they walked.

Vincent reloaded Cerberus and nodded, "I can live with that."

"Me too," Sam agreed, "and that's something, considering it's coming from a dead guy."

They turned a corner, the only exit had somewhere in the range of ten black-clad Shinra blocking it, all looking right at them.

"Alright people!" yelled Sam. "I'm giving a complimentary ten seconds for those who'd like to go ahead and get out of our way right now. Anyone left will face the deadly wrath of my friend, tall dark and shadowy, here."

The Shinra aimed rifles.

"Wrath is one of those Seven Deadly Sins, isn't it?" asked Sam.

"We don't have those here," Vincent muttered and fired.

No Shinra managed to pull a trigger.

"Well, there's Gluttony…Pride, I think…oh, are they dead already?" asked Sam.

Vincent looked at the dead Shinra and back at Sam, "It does seem that way."

"Well then," Sam replied, "let's go see what else they've got."

The two exited the hotel area and appeared at the main entrance. The front doorway had an even larger number of Shinra guarding it, with one difference. Two of the black-clad soldiers had larger weapons.

"I believe those are rocket launchers," Sam stated.

"Gondola," Vincent growled and dived at the entrance to the Gondola, Sam was just behind as two rockets exploded behind them.

"Hold on," Sam said, close behind Vincent, "I think my pants are on fire."

"You'll live," Vincent replied.

"I was kidding, but that's a horrible way to put it," Sam commented.

The Gondola was at rest, it appeared as if it hadn't been in use, obviously no happy couples in the Golden Saucer this evening.

Soldiers came through the entrance, rifles blazing. Vincent spun and held up his gold plated arm. Bullets that came at him ricocheted off the gold armour.

"Getting on?" asked Sam jumping on the Gondola.

"I'd rather not," Vincent murmured, getting on.

Sam used his telekinetic abilities to start up the contraption and it began to move. Bullets rippled over the Gondola, what windows there were in the thing were now entirely shattered.

Vincent fired back through the demolished windows until they were long out of range.

"This has not been my day," growled Sam, covering his left shoulder.

"You alright?" asked Vincent.

"Well, other than getting shot, yes," Sam replied, "my lack of being super-duper is really starting to get annoying, you wouldn't happen to have an old-fashioned Potion on you, eh?"

Vincent pulled one out of his crimson cloak.

Sam took it, "You know I've always wanted to know, other than the question of how you guys can carry all the stuff you pick up. Why, oh why, would a random creature out in the wilds be carrying 68 Gil and a Fire Ring?"

Vincent looked at him silently.

"Video game logic, no?" asked Sam.

"I think it—" Vincent was interrupted by the rotors of an approaching helicopter.

A Shinra chopper.

"Oh, for the sake of Odin," Sam muttered, quickly drinking the Potion. "Why do they want us so bad?"

"Maybe it isn't us, but what we know," Vincent said.

"Teleran," Sam muttered.

"Possibly," Vincent said, opening fire on the approaching chopper.

Two more choppers approached from behind the first.

"Oh, fuck me, three of them," Sam murmured.

"If it was something we know, they don't seem too keen on taking us alive for questioning," Vincent observed, Cerberus' bullets sent the three choppers in different directions.

Sam pulled his staff from nowhere and held it out, "Phoenix, sweetheart, do your thing."

The Summon appeared, the flaming bird sailed straight for the choppers. The things immediately started firing back, machine guns impacting the bird multiple times.

"Damn," Sam muttered, "we're getting our ass kicked here."

Phoenix let out a cry and dropped out of the sky, but it wasn't defeated.

The Summon quickly took up flight again and appeared behind the choppers. A jet of flame blew away one before the other two turned. This time, rockets flew at Phoenix. The Summon managed to dodge one but was hit by the other.

Sam could feel the creature losing strength, Sam in turn was losing his own.

Phoenix seemed to pause for a moment and then shot forward, a streak of orange and red passed over one of the choppers. The Summon appeared on the other side, the chopper was cut in half, and then exploded.

Sam quickly called back the Summon before chopper three did any more damage.

The aircraft hovered menacingly, ready to fire.

"Well, Meat Loaf said it best," Sam muttered, "two outta three ain't bad."

"We need to get out," Vincent said.

"Keen observation," Sam yelled diving headlong out a broken window, "meet at the Theatre!"

Vincent nodded to himself and turned to the chopper. It fired its last missiles at the Gondola; Vincent had long since jumped out a window and headed straight toward the chopper.

The pilot hadn't seen the crimson figure approaching, he was too focused on the exploding Gondola. Burning pieces of the construction flew everywhere. The pilot did notice the turbulence as something landed on the left side of the chopper, however.

There were two black-clad soldiers also in the chopper who felt the shift. One turned to the wrong side, the one who turned left saw Vincent in time to be pulled out and thrown toward the ground below. The second soldier heard the cry of his comrade and turned. He didn't have time to fire his weapon, but he did attempt to hit Vincent with the butt of his rifle. Vincent hit the rifle with his golden clawed hand; the weapon was sliced into something close to four pieces. Vincent didn't take the time to count. The soldier's surprise was evident, even through the helmet.

Vincent smashed the soldier across the face with Cerberus and knocked him out. By this time the pilot had managed to pull a pistol and fired on Vincent. The bullet hit Vincent in the chest and sent him stumbling back. The pilot, assuming Vincent dead, holstered the gun and went back to piloting. He was about to make a report to his commanding officer when a black-gloved hand grabbed him by the neck.

"It's going to take a little more than that," Vincent growled and hauled the pilot out of his seat. He quickly tossed the pilot into the back and kicked him again to knock him out.

The craft had a safety mechanism that automatically activated auto-pilot if no one was in the pilot chair, so the chopper remained at a consistent hover. Vincent sat in the pilot seat and took the controls.

It had been a while since he'd flown a Shinra chopper.

§

Sam entered the Theatre area and sat in the spectator seats, the place was void of any life, even Shinra. He'd only seen Vincent jump toward the last chopper and then Sam had to focus on not going splat on the ground. He figured Vincent was taking care of the last chopper, no rush.

Sam looked at the empty stage and imagined Cloud and Aeris on their date here.

"Well…that is if you did the play, it's optional," Sam muttered to himself.

Someone stepped out on stage. There was only the minimum amount of lighting, but what light there was showed the person clearly enough. It was a woman; she had a long, ankle-length, black coat with what appeared to be silver sparkles running through it. Like diamonds imbedded in the fabric. Her hair was shoulder length and a dark brown; her eyes stood out…a fluorescent green.

Sam stood up from his seat. He was a good distance from the stage, but knowing who this woman was, not noticing his presence wasn't an option. She knew he was there.

There were two very distinguishable differences between Cetra guardians and Sigurd. Mostly it was the eyes.

Guardians had black, like Wymond.

Sigurd had the colour of the Lifestream in their eyes.

"If you're looking for that Samael dude, I think I saw him go that way," Sam said pointing off to his left.

"Thank you," the woman replied, stepping off stage, "you've been a great help."

Sam couldn't see a weapon on her, didn't mean she didn't have one.

Sam stepped out into an aisle and started walking toward her, she did likewise to him.

"So, what exactly can I do for you?" asked Sam.

"You can hand over the staff and not be any more trouble than you're worth," she replied.

"Well, now that's not a realistic request now is it," Sam said, "even for a pretty girl like you."

"Why thank you," she replied, "but my looks don't change what I'm here for."

"Compliments usually make other people less violent, why doesn't it ever work on Cetra," murmured Sam.

"I don't suppose you'll change your mind," she said.

"What's your name?" asked Sam.

She tilted her head to the left curiously, "Shakira, why?"

Sam stopped walking, "You're kidding, right?"

She said nothing.

"Shakira?" asked Sam laughing. "You aren't kidding…"

"No," she replied.

Sam laughed, "Hi Shakira, I'm Three Days Grace."

She said nothing.

"Hips don't lie," Sam said laughing. "Refugees run the seas because they own their own boats…well Shakira doesn't actually say that it's the other dude, but you know…"

She looked much like Vincent usually did.

"You guys gotta get out more," Sam muttered, "okay, Shakira, if that _is_ your real name."

"I'll—" Shakira began.

"Sorry, I have to ask," Sam said, cutting her off, "there aren't any Sigurd by the name _Nelly_, are there? Maybe one named…Brad Pitt, 'cause I wanna know why I missed the _name your child after a celebrity day_ in Cetra-ville."

"Samael," Shakira said, "refers to a name sometimes connected with the Angel of Death, as well it is said by some to be the true angelic name of Satan, instead of Lucifer. Mine simply sounds like someone else; yours has a much deeper allusion, so who should be making fun of who?"

"You were one of those Cetra who spent all their time in an ancient library, I gather," Sam retorted and started walking again.

"And much smarter than you, in thanks to that," she replied.

Sam shrugged, hands closing into fists, "I was only asking your name so I know what to call you when I inform the Elders of your death."


	19. One Down

**Chapter 19**

**One Down**

Sam dodged the first strike but was unable to evade the second. The kick sent him sailing a few feet through the air before smashing to the ground and rolling.

"Ouch," Sam muttered, getting up.

Shakira moved toward him at a slow walk.

"Shouldn't have kicked me so far away," Sam taunted, "you wouldn't have to walk so far."

The Sigurd suddenly disappeared and reappeared right in front of Sam, launching an uppercut that sent him to the ground again.

"Your concern is appreciated," she replied, "but I honestly don't walk very much."

Sam kicked upward and hit Shakira in the stomach, he took the opportunity to kick her feet out from under her and put her on the ground for once. Sam got up and turned to leave…Shakira was in front of him.

"You gotta cut the teleporting stuff," Sam muttered.

The Sigurd backhanded him across the face sending him sailing off to the right and into the spectator seats. She moved toward him again.

Sam got up slowly and shook his head, his vision blurred for a moment but focused. He immediately flicked his right wrist and Shakira was sent flying head over heels backward and into the spectator seats across the aisle.

"Yeah, sucks don't it?" Sam growled rhetorically.

Shakira stood up and stepped into the aisle again. She looked a little disheveled, Sam was already a wreck.

"Looks like a fair fight isn't gonna work out for me on this one," Sam said.

The Sigurd stuck out her right hand and tried her own telekinetic attack, Sam quickly countered with his own. An invisible force fought in the space between their hands. It wasn't visible at all, but if there were spectators they certainly could visualize the struggle.

"Okay, Obi-wan Kenobi, you wanna do a Force fight, you can have a Force fight," Sam growled and quickly stepped aside. The invisible force that shot from Shakira's hand hit some seats instead of Sam. The seats were blown off in all directions and crashed into other objects, some many feet away.

The Sigurd's redirected attack put her off guard for a moment; this gave Sam a chance to toss his own attack. He lifted his arm up and Shakira went up with it, colliding directly with the roof of the Theatre and crashing back to the ground heavily.

"Take a seat," Sam growled and threw the Sigurd to the left and into the audience seating again, "you look like you could use it."

Shakira quickly stood and countered, the telekinetic attack was too fast for Sam and it sent him sailing backward into a wall. Momentum put him forward after hitting the wall and then on to the ground face-first.

The Sigurd walked up to him and looked down, "You're out of your league this time, Samael."

She blinked and he was gone, she turned quickly to look behind her.

Sam smashed her under the chin with his staff and sent her flying awkwardly into the same wall he'd just finished hitting. She was now in his position.

"You're right, you're way out of my league," Sam said breathing heavily, "but I'm not asking you out, I'm just gonna kill you."

Shakira tried to stand and Sam smashed her on the back of the head.

"Teleporting stuff isn't very fair is it?" said Sam. "Welcome to my life."

Shakira rolled left quickly and hopped to her feet. Lacking anything left to say she immediately went into a flurry of punches that Sam easily enough avoided.

Clearly she'd run out of amusement for telekinetic attacks, probably because Sam was better at them.

She may have been a higher ranking Cetra, but class doesn't always beat skill.

On the other hand, she was considerably faster and stronger. The Sigurd jumped into a back flip and simultaneously kicked Sam in the process. For the hundredth time it seemed, he was sent flying through the air. This time he went through the exit and out into the main hall of the Golden Saucer. He slid across the ground and eventually came to a halt.

Sam rolled on to his back and murmured a curse, he struggled to his feet. He looked down to pick up his dropped staff, it wasn't there. He looked all around for it.

"Looking for this?" Shakira asked, holding his staff, standing a few feet away.

Sam stuck out his hand and the staff was ripped from her grasp, to her surprise, it was back in Sam's right hand.

"Why, yes, I was," Sam replied amiably, "thank you."

Shakira growled and charged at him, he parried another group of punches and kicks that might have put Tifa to shame. There was a reason this Sigurd had no weapons on her: unarmed combat, like Tifa.

Sam's specialty was not in such fighting, so he was not at an advantage.

He blocked a left fist and managed to get a kick in that connected with her stomach. Doubled over, Sam managed to land a successful knee to her face, sending her sprawling on the ground.

She was up before she'd ever hit the ground, and came back with a kick that hit Sam across the face, sending him hard to the ground a meter or so to the left.

He grabbed his staff and had to use it to pull himself up; he knew he didn't have much left to fight her with. Shakira, in contrast, looked as if she hadn't been hit at all.

Sam knew that with the Paradoxer in control the Sigurd didn't have the usual advantage of invincibility they usually had. Unfortunately, that meant Sam didn't have said invincibility either. All he needed to do was manage some kind of killing blow, he wouldn't have to worry about the usual problems with Sigurd…the fact they can't die.

Shakira kicked the staff away and grabbed Sam by the collar then tossed him easily out the front doors and outside of the Golden Saucer. He rolled to a stop and looked up to see two black-clad Shinra looking down at him.

"I'd run if I were you," Sam said.

Both soldiers were thrown backward and right off the Golden Saucer, to fall to the desert floor far below.

"Now, Sam," Shakira said, "are you done with all this futile rebellion, the Elders just want to talk with you."

"Why, can't you talk with me?" asked Sam, telekinesis returning his staff to his hand yet again.

"They just want to know where you hid the girl, and who Wymond's contact is," Shakira said.

"Wymond's contact?" asked Sam.

He figured she must be talking about the mysterious person only Wymond and Sorin knew about. Sam supposed the Elders assumed Sorin would tell Sam, and that Sam was an easier target than Sorin himself.

"The person he's getting his information about the Paradoxers from, who is it?" asked Shakira.

"He wouldn't tell me, you'll have to ask him," Sam replied.

"Fine then, where's the girl?" asked Shakira.

"Aeris?" asked Sam.

"Yes," the Sigurd said.

"Far, far, away," Sam said, "even if I told you, it'd take you a very long time to get there."

"You can get there," she replied.

"Yup," Sam said nodding.

"Then you'll take me," Shakira said walking up to Sam and suddenly drawing a small knife from somewhere in her shiny coat, she put it to his neck, "or I send you back to the Lifestream and you tell the Elders."

There was a strong gust of wind and the sudden familiar whine of helicopter blades. Loose objects were thrown in the sudden turbulent winds.

A Shinra chopper floated up menacingly, looking right across at Shakira.

Vincent Valentine was in the pilot seat.

"You beat the crap out of me, and you get shot by him," Sam said smiling, "Karma _rules_."

The chopper's guns opened fire, hundreds of rounds exploded into the Sigurd throwing her off her feet and through the air, constantly impacted by the bullets. Vincent sat impassively in the seat, finger held down on the trigger. When the firing stopped Sam made an effort not to look at the dead Sigurd, he tried not to imagine what that many high-powered rounds can do to a person.

Sam walked with some struggle to the chopper and Vincent lowered it enough that Sam could get on.

"You are one very, very, scary dude, my friend," Sam said sitting in the co-pilot seat.

"Who was that?" asked Vincent.

"That was a Cetra Sigurd," Sam replied.

"One of the bounty hunter types Teleran spoke of?" asked Vincent.

"They're on to us, we might be in trouble," Sam said.

Vincent ascended with the chopper and headed away from the Golden Saucer, "If that was your idea of trouble, you clearly underestimate the hell I've endured. That was an inconvenience."


	20. Resident Midgar

**Chapter 20**

**Resident Midgar**

Sam and Vincent watched from the hovering chopper as the Shera materialized out of nowhere a few meters from where they were. Sam had contacted Cid a few minutes earlier and reported in.

"I have a question," Sam said, "what do we do with the chopper?"

"We might need it," Vincent said, "fuel is about eighty percent, guns almost full, one missile."

"Be a waste to just park it," Sam said shrugging.

"Cid, we're headed to Midgar to get Sorin, we'll take the chopper," Vincent said to the earpiece in his ear.

"_No point causin' a ruckus,_" Cid's voice replied, "_we'll follow you in, you two would blend better with the chopper._"

"If something goes down don't hesitate to bring the ass-kicking," Sam added.

"_Bet your ass, Ancient-boy,_" Cid replied, "_Shera, out_."

Sam looked at Vincent, "_Ancient-boy_?"

Vincent shrugged, "It suits you."

"Ancient yes, but I'm older than him," Sam said, "I don't think _boy_ works."

Vincent shook his head slightly and turned the chopper toward Midgar.

"Guess you flew choppers when you were a Turk?" asked Sam.

"That's a stupid question," Vincent replied, "it's clear you already know everything there is to know about me, so you already know the answer is no."

Sam smiled, "Just trying to make conversation. I forgot your job as a Turk was to work for psychotic scientists."

Vincent nodded, "Now you have my occupation correct. All Turks can fly a chopper; this one is a bit different from the ones I remember however."

"This one have a radio?" asked Sam, studying the control panel.

"I don't think so, no," Vincent replied.

"That's okay, I do a really good Gnarls Barkley," Sam said.

"Who…" Vincent shook his head, "I don't know what you're talking about, but don't do it."

"I also do Kid Rock, ask Tifa about that one," Sam added.

"I'll make a point to do that," Vincent said mostly ignoring him.

The chopper was a quick machine, but whether it was as fast as the Shera or not was unknown. The Shera could already be waiting for them at Midgar, but it didn't matter, nobody was in a real hurry anyways.

"Thar she blows, matey!" Sam yelled in a Pirate-voice.

"What?" asked Vincent.

"Midgar," Sam clarified, pointing.

Indeed, Midgar had come into view.

"Look at the Shinra building," Sam muttered. The thing was quite different, it was darker and had numerous weapons placed all over the place. Probably anti-aircraft weapons, it seemed as if this version of Shinra had its share of attacks and wanted no more.

"In theory, because we're in a Shinra chopper, those weapons shouldn't even notice us," Vincent said.

"I'm not a huge fan of theories, but I don't feel much like walking," Sam replied.

They prepared themselves to make a quick exit if the weapons made a sign of readying to attack. They passed into Midgar airspace and there was no resistance.

"Theory looks good at this point," Sam commented.

Vincent started looking for a place to set the chopper down; if he floated around like he didn't know what he was doing it would look suspicious.

"Shadowy, look down," Sam said.

Vincent looked toward the ground, from their high position they could only see the upper plate, with the slums below. It looked as if hundreds from the slums had made it to the upper city and were swarming toward the Shinra building.

"Some kind of riot, or something," Sam guessed.

Vincent looked on curiously for a moment then looked ahead again. Immediately, he spotted a building that was adjacent to the Shinra building, a few feet away.

People were on the roof.

"Why are they on the roof?" asked Vincent.

"Jesus, that's Sorin," Sam said leaning forward, "can you land this sucker on that roof?"

"If they move, yes," Vincent replied and brought the chopper into the air higher, then started floating down toward the roof; people got the hint and moved out of the way.

Vincent killed the engine and stepped out on to the roof with Sam.

"Sorin, what the hell is going on?" asked Sam walking toward him.

Sorin had a Shinra standard-issue rifle in his right hand; he was surrounded by a few more people with similar weapons.

"We had something of an inconvenience," Sorin replied.

"What's going on down there?" asked Vincent.

"As far as we can tell, AVALANCHE blew a Mako Reactor," Sorin explained, "when they did, these strange zombie-type things started appearing."

"Zombies?" asked Sam. "This Paradoxer's got a sense of humour."

"Speaking of which, what did Teleran say?" asked Sorin.

"Kyra," Sam said, "we're still not any closer to who's behind the bigger problem."

"Only a non-Cetra would want the Bane to be called upon," Sorin said, "in any case, we can't do anything until we get out of here."

"We can't fit everyone on the chopper," Vincent informed.

"We can get them on the Shera, though," Sam said.

"I'll contact Cid," Vincent said.

"Once we—" Sam started, a loud banging cut him off, "—the hell is that?"

The banging persisted, it sounded close.

"Someone's at the roof-access door," informed one of the men who were with Sorin.

"The majority of Midgar's population has become like the other zombies," Sorin said, "it's very likely that there are no humans knocking at that door."

"They found their way up here," someone said.

"They'll break their way in soon enough," Sorin muttered.

"Vincent, call the Shera, tell them to pick up anyone on the roof," Sam said. "We have to hold off these things coming through the door."

Sorin told the others what the plan was. A ship would pick them up soon; Sam, Sorin and Vincent would meet the zombies at the door and push them back. They could use the chopper to get out afterward.

"This is starting to remind me of an Xbox 360 game," Sam commented.

"I think that was in a mall," Sorin said, readying his rifle.

"Same difference," Sam replied.

Vincent reloaded Cerberus and the three stopped a few feet from the grey door that was now quite dented outward from the banging.

"Let's hope there's less inside than on the ground," Sam muttered.

"I know this is gonna sound really cheesy and overused," Sorin said, "but shoot for the head."

"The only way to kill them is to sever the link between the still-barely-functioning brain and the electric signals that command the body to move," Vincent said deadpan.

Sorin and Sam looked at him.

"Shoot for the head, yes," Vincent reiterated.

"Smart-ass," Sorin muttered.

The sheer number of the deformed creatures that waited on the other side prevented the three from moving forward at first. The constant powerful gunfire from Sorin and Vincent eventually broke through. Those that got close enough, Sam hit them with the deadlier bottom end of his staff.

They pushed the grouping of enemies down the stairs; Sam gave a swift kick to one zombie creating a domino effect that pretty much cleared the stairs for them. The impact with the zombie did send a shot of pain through his leg adding on to the injury he'd received from the Sigurd, among the many others.

"Come on, chase me!" Sorin yelled going down the stairs, the zombies did just that and followed the three away from the roof. They broke out of the stairwell and into a big hallway.

"More like a mall now, eh?" Sam commented.

Sorin nodded, "Zombies and all."

The hall to the left was filled with them.

"I suppose we're going right," Vincent said.

They ran right; the mass of zombies to the left noticed and attempted to follow. Much like the stereotype, they were all very slow moving.

"Oh, candy shop," Sam said suddenly disappearing into a doorway.

Vincent muttered a curse and kept running.

"He'll catch up," Sorin said laughing.

After a few minutes Sam did, with a small bag of assorted Jelly Beans in hand, "Nothing like a good zombie viral outbreak to get free candy."

"Throw me a green," Sorin said, Sam tossed a green Jelly Bean. "Thanks."

A group of zombies broke through some glass ahead and blocked their path, for a few seconds anyways. Vincent's powerful weapon blew them all off their feet.

"Cid, where are you now?" asked Sam.

"_Picking up our guests as we speak, get a move on_," Cid replied.

"Alright, people, let's get back to the roof," Sam said, looking back over his shoulder, "somehow."

Sorin stopped and turned, he sprayed the group of zombies with his rifle, "Too many."

"Guess this is my cue," Sam said holding up his staff, "okay, Shiva, make this little group here look really weak and powerless."

The blue-skinned Summon appeared and did as asked.

The zombies were frozen instantly.

"That's almost like cheating really," Sorin commented.

"Never used Gameshark in my life," Sam replied, "that was just pure skill."

Vincent aimed and fired. An entire grouping of the zombies shattered, the bullets passed through them and shattered some more behind. Another shot cleared a path right back to the roof access.

"This couldn't have been Kyra's big bad plan," Sam said walking past the remaining frozen zombies, "zombies aren't exactly entirely reliable monsters."

"They are if you're only expecting normal resistance," Vincent said, "I don't believe she was expecting two Cetra and myself to be involved."

"That's a good point," Sorin agreed, "had she known, we might have had worse problems. Then there's the fact we can't kill all of these things here. They may still spread out of Midgar, maybe that's what Kyra wants."

"Worse problems still to come, I'm sure, unless we find this Paradoxer," Vincent said.

"Well, we won't know until we find…_Jesus on ice skates_!" Sam blurted.

"Until we find Jesus on…" Vincent was about to ask but trailed off, he saw what had grabbed Sam's attention.

About fifty or so more zombies swarmed into the group of frozen zombies. Vincent started firing, bullets shattering frozen zombies and hitting still-moving ones as they approached.

Suddenly, something smashed through a large window to Sam's left, he turned as three zombies came ambling clumsily through the shattered glass. One was almost close enough to grab him, but Sam was fast enough to smash it away with his staff.

"Back hell-spawn, back I say!" yelled Sam in a comical voice as he started whacking all three zombies in unison.

"Sam, that's not priestly enough, try a southern accent," yelled Sorin over his own gunfire.

"Southern?" asked Vincent slicing the head of a zombie clean off with his golden clawed hand.

"Yeah, you just gotta lengthen _yer_ _vowels_," Sam said, pronouncing _vowels_ with the southern drawl that made it sound more like _vaaiils_. "_Y'all_."

Vincent absent-mindedly clubbed an approaching zombie with the barrel of Cerberus.

"Alright, time to go," Sorin growled, seeing that the onslaught wasn't going to end anytime soon.

Sam turned and was face to face with a zombie.

"The hell'd you come from," muttered Sam, the thing reached for him but he got his staff up horizontally and managed to keep it back. The thing was strong enough that its return pushes almost knocked Sam over.

Vincent saw Sam struggling with the zombie; he kicked an oncoming zombie in the stomach and smashed it with Cerberus to the ground, then finished it with a gunshot that blew away the fallen monster's head. Vincent backhanded another oncoming zombie while simultaneously reloading Cerberus. Vincent blew away the zombie that he had backhanded, and then turned a one-eighty and blew the head off the zombie struggling with Sam.

Sam stepped back in shock a wiped some unknown substance from his face, whatever it was it had come from the zombie's exploding head, clearly.

"Nice shot dude," Sam growled wiping stuff off his face, "goop, right in the face, well done."

Vincent couldn't hear him as he was turned again and blowing away another wave of zombies.

"I'll make a path, run for the door," Sorin said, throwing his rifle on the ground. "Go when I say!"

Sam and Vincent nodded.

Sorin stepped forward and held out his right hand, then pointed straight ahead as if indicating something.

Then the zombies stopped moving. Not like stopping for a rest, or like getting stuck in mud. It was more like time itself, the world in the small area around each individual zombie had come to a halt.

"Isolated existence-freezing," Sam said grinning. "Show off."

Sorin nodded to the door, "I can't do this forever, let's go."

Sorin kept his finger pointed until he came to the door, then when he let his arm fall the zombies resumed moving as if nothing happened.

They made it back to the roof and boarded the chopper.

"There are still a great many zombies in that building," Sorin said, "got one more summon left in that staff, Sam?"

"I got a million, you thinking Zero?" asked Sam.

"Blow them away," Sorin said.

Sam held out his staff, "Bahamut Zero, you know this guy's a pain to get. I usually can't get the Huge Materia with Cid on the train…"

Vincent looked at Sam strangely.

"Nevermind," Sam said and called on the Summon.

The huge version of the original Bahamut, except with six wings, floated out in space, a large beam exploded from it after a few moments and headed through the atmosphere toward the building.

From the vantage point of the hovering chopper the beam could be seen coming from the sky a few seconds before it actually hit. The resulting explosion was devastating and rocked the chopper violently with the shockwave, there was nothing left of the building afterward.

"PWNEd," Sam said, nonchalantly offering Vincent a red coloured candy, "Jelly Bean?"


	21. Prelude to the Enemy

--alright, for my next little episode (mostly in the next chapter) in this fine narrative I'll be explaining some things through a flashback which will basically visualize the story Sam and Sorin will be telling to the others. This means that I will be going back to the time of the Cetra, and as I really don't know anything about the time of the Cetra…if anyone actually does…I will be playing around with things that could/could not or may/may not have happened or even be possible. If you read this and think: "whoa, the timeline he's using doesn't make any sense," that little detail will be explained in the story. Onward.

**Chapter 21**

**Prelude to the Enemy**

Wymond returned to the Shera which now hovered silently outside the City of the Ancients. Sorin had sent him to confer with his contact for information they may have gained. There was little, what Wymond now knew was, at least that Kyra was their Paradoxer. The contact had informed him also that their larger threat, the Bane, is rumoured to be awakening, by whom was unknown. Wymond's contact didn't have any real knowledge back into the old enemies of the Cetra, but it was recommended that he ask Sorin and Sam about any known threats that might have been able to once again rise to attack the Cetra. This was obviously someone with a great hatred; to want to kill an entire race after they were already dead was a clear indicator.

"What's the scoop?" asked Sam, catching Wymond on the bridge of the ship first.

"The contact backs up the fact Kyra is the Paradoxer, but our bigger problem is not so easily solved," Wymond replied.

"What did the contact say?" asked Sorin coming up silently behind Sam.

"To try to think of any old enemies powerful enough to come back," Wymond said, "one with enough hatred to want to kill every Cetra, twice in a lifetime."

Sam cursed, "That doesn't really narrow things down, the Cetra had a lot of powerful bad guys follow them around over the years."

"Forays into other existences didn't help either," Sorin said, "we are dealing with something that came from another existence, I know this."

Sam nodded, "No simple creature could just find its way back to the living and bring the Bane out of slumber, naturally. It takes a real badass to summon the power required."

"Think back," Sorin said, "I know it's been many years, try and focus on the ones that were from other existences."

"The Cetra were playing with time travel that long ago?" asked Cid.

"As far back as I can remember," Sorin said nodding.

"And it only ever brought us trouble," Sam added.

"All we need to do is try to remember the specific trouble," Sorin said, "due to the existence traveling, you see, to us the time since we were alive seems much longer than it actually is…or it really is as long as it seems. In fact, due to our less than careful nature around such time travel, in our more foolish days, much of what we consider normal passage of time is skewed."

Cid stared blankly, then back at Tifa and Vincent, "Any'a you catch that?"

Tifa stared blankly.

"You distorted existence in Centre Time with your early experiments," Vincent said deadpan, "creating a sort of inconsistency in time itself."

"A paradox of sorts, so in fact not only did the Cetra exist in a different existence than you, they existed in a different _time_. Yet existing enough in the _same_ existence for our ancestors to have lived and died with your knowledge," Sorin said.

Cid shook his head, "The hell you talkin' about?"

"Time and space got very fucked up," Sam clarified, "it was kind of like…taking a black marker and drawing crazily all over a calendar. By the time you're done you're not sure which days are which anymore, if you can see them at all."

"So, timelines would have become useless," Vincent said, "one year, one hundred years, they all became one and the same."

"Exactly," Sam said. "Wanna hear something crazy? Probably help you understand."

Sorin smiled at Sam.

"Sorin here, is Aeris' grandfather," Sam said.

Even Vincent looked in shock.

"Weird, eh?" Sam said laughing.

"Ifalna was my daughter," Sorin said, sitting on a chair on the bridge, "which makes Aeris' relation obvious."

Cid looked on in silence, "Are you her grandfather by some…fucked up…time…existence reasons…or because you actually…you know."

"I was genuinely in love with her, yes, there was no existence disruption involved," Sorin replied.

"So are you related to Aeris?" asked Tifa to Sam.

Sam smiled, "Nah, no such coincidence there."

"He is the reason, however, why Aeris exists," Sorin added.

"I'm still tryin' to get my head around you being Aeris' grandfather," Cid muttered.

"Well, she must have one, yes? Even Cetra are born like any other, it is a given that she would have one, why is it so strange it should be me?" asked Sorin.

Cid tried to say something, but felt it would be better if he didn't.

"So why is Sam the reason why Aeris exists?" asked Tifa.

Sam waved it off, "It's nothing."

Sorin chuckled, "The only subject in which Sam is ever modest. Samael here saved my wife, had he failed, Ifalna never would have been born."

"Wait," Cid jumped in, "so if all these guys have the power to jump time and existence…can't one just go back to the point and make sure Ifalna isn't born?"

"The Cetra set up safe-guards for that kind of thing," Sam replied, "we can't prevent all paradoxes, but big ones like that we can stop before they happen."

"I fail to see how this information gets us closer to finding our enemy," Vincent put in suddenly.

Sorin nodded, "Back to business, I'll explain."

"It'd be easier to just tell them the story," Sam said.

Sorin shrugged, "Unless you all feel we should be in a hurry to chase an enemy we can't find."

Tifa smiled, "I can't wait to hear this."

Vincent answered as usual, with silence.

"You all will be the first of a few who will know anything about the Cetra before they became extinct," Sorin said, almost ominously, "I believe you will be able to pick out the man whom I assume is our enemy now."

"He's a pretty stereotypical bad dude, you'll see," Sam said.

"Sam and Wymond can fill in blanks that I may miss or not have any knowledge of," Sorin said, "I suppose I should begin with some hundreds of undetermined years ago. About a day before we encountered our aforementioned enemy…"

Sorin began to tell the story.


	22. Hunters

**Chapter 22**

**Hunters**

_Hundreds of years ago—_

Two men stood atop a large cliff and overlooked what appeared to be the beginnings of a city. The metal and materials being used were dark and was in stark contrast to the bright setting around it. The men had been watching for days as hundreds of workers began putting together the components.

"They haven't picked a name for it yet," said the left-hand man, Seral.

"Place looks gloomy as hell," replied the right-hand man.

"What would you call it, Sam?" Seral asked. "Happy Flower City?"

Samael looked at his Cetra counterpart, "No, actually I was thinking something more like Rivers of Chocolate and Gumdrops City."

Seral shook his head and looked across to the construction site, "I've heard some other rumours."

"Are they going to start giving it some other colours as opposed to black and dark grey?" asked Sam.

"Bad rumours," Seral clarified, "apparently that place is being built around some crazy plan to find the Promised Land."

"Promised Land?" asked Sam. "The hell's that?"

"Some kind of paradise or something, I'm not sure," Seral replied.

"Why is that bad?" asked Sam.

"The people running the place think we're the key to this place," Seral said.

"Us specifically?" asked Sam smiling.

"Cetra in general, fool," Seral reiterated.

"Why us?" asked Sam.

"We get all the mythology, a while ago I heard we were supposed to be able to open a doorway to this Promised Land…somewhere in the North Crater," Seral said smiling.

"Well, that's bullshit, who came up with that?" asked Sam.

Seral shrugged, "We're a dying breed, you and I, and once we're gone there'll only be regular humans left. I suppose they feel the need to have majestic stories to leave behind for us."

"The reason we're dying so much is because of those majestic stories, Seral," Sam said, "I've seen at least four hunters this week killing Cetra because they don't like the fact we can hear the planet talking and they can't."

"You'd think they could come up with another reason," Seral said, "a better one than that, at least. Listening to the indecipherable moans of a piece of rock in space isn't exactly that amazing when you think about it."

"Well, apparently when you become an Elder you're supposed to be able to hear it better, but look how long guys like you and I have to wait to even get close to that kind of standing. We're just targets for their weapons, an endangered species that's in season until they're all dead," Sam said.

"We are outnumbered," Seral said grimly, "there really is no hope. The ratio of Cetra to humans by now is something like twelve to one, considering most of those humans are hunters out to kill us, I'd say we're screwed."

"We're already doing a good job of jumping existences, why can't we just leave, that's what I wanna know," Sam pointed out.

"Elders say it'll cause some kind of paradox if we do," Seral said, "like I said, no hope."

Sam sighed and stared off into the distance, "Guess we might as well kill as many of them as possible before they kill us."

"Long live the Ancients, right," Seral said unenthusiastically.

"You're starting to sound like an Outcast, you know, maybe you should join," Sam said turning away from the cliff and heading back home.

Seral followed, "That Feardorcha guy freaks me out, though. Anyways, it looks like you might have to join."

"Why would I do that?" asked Sam.

"Charna is trying to get in," Seral said.

Sam suddenly stopped walking, "You're kidding."

"She's already said she's interested, she's just waiting for a response, you know where your girlfriend goes you have to go, that's like a rule of chivalry or something isn't it?" chuckled Seral.

"Why wouldn't she tell me something like that?" asked Sam.

"That was rhetorical right? You're the one who can read minds, not me," Seral replied, "I set things on fire, you do the mind tricks."

"I'm mostly telekinetic, dude, mind reading is tele_pathic_," Sam retorted.

"Doesn't mean you can't do it," Seral added.

"It means I can't do it _well_," Sam countered.

"But you can, however, do—" Seral was interrupted by the sound of screaming, sounded female, from afar.

"Oh, what the hell now?" growled Sam.

The two Cetra broke into a run and headed toward the noise. They passed around a small hill and found the source.

Two dark clothed men with swords stood a few feet from two Cetra. One was a young woman that Sam recognized, the other was a Sigurd Sam had never met…the Sigurd was dead. The woman wore pink clothing and a gold bracelet around one wrist. The piece of jewelry signified a high-class Cetra, this woman was somehow related to an Elder. People like that usually walked around with two Sigurd and one guardian, where the hell were the guardian and other Sigurd?

"That's Mia," Seral said urgently.

Sam knew Mia, she was the granddaughter of a well-respected Elder, and bit of a dumb ass in Sam's opinion, a trait his granddaughter didn't share, thankfully. He recognized her mostly by the emerald green eyes that seemed to be able to grab you're attention from miles away. Sam loved Charna, but ignoring how attractive Mia was would be near impossible anyways.

Three more dark clothed men approached the long brown-haired Cetra. Two had similar swords, one held a rifle, which was strange because guns were rare weapons.

"Look, the other Sigurd," Seral said.

Both Sigurd were dead, the second was a few meters away, unmoving.

"These guys killed two Sigurd, the guardian's probably off dead somewhere else, we gotta get over there," Sam muttered.

"What the hell, might as well go out with a bang," Seral said.

"You're so negative, I was actually planning on winning," Sam replied and headed slowly toward the hunters and Mia.

The five dark-clad men appeared ready to finish off the girl when they spotted the two Cetra approaching.

"Well, now what are you gentlemen doing in this part of town, eh?" asked Sam.

None responded, after a moment the one with the rifle spoke up.

"Well I was here to kill some hunters, actually," said the rifleman.

The other four turned to look at the hunter curiously; one of them got a rifle-butt in the face.

As that one fell Seral and Sam exploded into action. Seral's eyes lit up red and suddenly the hunters were surrounded in a circle of fire.

"Not thinking of running off, I hope," said the rifleman, he took off his dark clothing, the high collar of his overcoat had been distorting his face, so Sam hadn't realize who it was until it was removed.

"Mardra," Sam said, walking with Seral calmly forward, "thought you switched sides there for a while."

Mardra laughed, "You mean you had no idea it was me, that's okay, it's what I was aiming for."

Mardra raised his rifle and blew away one of the hunters at close range. Sam waved his hand and a second hunter's weapon was tossed through the air. The unarmed enemy turned and was looking down the barrel of Mardra's rifle.

"Hello," Mardra said amiably and blew a messy hole in the hunter's face.

Seral sent a jet of flame out from the surrounding circle and set it right on a third hunter, burning him alive on the spot. The final hunter tried to run but Sam stuck out his hand and the man was lifted a few feet off the ground.

"Mardra," Sam said, "you want a moving target?"

The rifleman smiled and reloaded, he dropped to one knee and looked down the sights of the gun, "Yeah, let him fly."

Sam flicked his wrist and the hunter was shot through the air. Mardra followed the man carefully with the gun, adjusting for wind, gravity and the speed of the hunter's body flying through the air.

It went without saying that Mardra had become a very, very, good shot with that rifle over the years.

When the hunter was at the right distance, Mardra fired. The bullet connected with the hunter's chest, right in the heart, exactly where Mardra wanted it to go. The dark-clad enemy of the Cetra fell dead on the ground a meter or so away.

Mardra stood up and slung the rifle over his right shoulder, "It'd almost be fun if it wasn't so easy."

Seral extinguished the fire, "Where did these guys come from?"

"Good question," Mardra said, "good you showed up though, I might have caught them by surprise, but these guys were no pushovers. Unlucky they would happen to run into the three strongest Cetra of them all, am I right?"

Sam chuckled, "Yeah."

Sam immediately turned his attention to Mia who was now sitting up.

"I like the fire ring," Mardra said to Seral while following Sam, "nice touch."

"Kind of unnecessary, really, no?" asked Seral.

"No, I liked it, snazzy," Mardra replied.

"You alright?" asked Sam, helping Mia to her feet.

The woman smiled, "Thank you, you three should think about becoming Sigurd, you know."

"I'm happy with the guardian job," Mardra said, "but the compliment was nice, thank you."

"You're her guardian?" asked Seral. "That's quite the promotion."

"Wondering where the hell I was when the Sigurd were getting killed?" asked Mardra.

"I had him go do something for me," Mia explained, "it was bad timing."

"I'm sure Norich will find a way to blame this on me, but then I'm used to that," Mardra said.

"My grandfather will say nothing about this as long as I have anything to say about it, I'm grateful to you all," Mia said smiling, "I shouldn't have gone this far away from the settlement, those Sigurd died because of me, you all could have as well."

"You're a rebel, sweetheart," Sam shrugged, "join the club."

Mia grinned.

"Here comes the cavalry, late as ever," Mardra murmured, making sure he'd gotten rid of the hunter clothing entirely. Admittedly, the hunter clothing and guardian clothing were both the same shade of black, there were some design differences.

A group of black Chocobo were speeding in their direction.

"Black Chocobo?" asked Mardra. "Sigurd ride gold ones."

"Those are Outcasts," Mia said, taking a subtle step backward.

"I know these guys, don't worry about it," Mardra said, seeing her uneasiness.

Mardra gave Sam a look that told him to get ready, Mardra always had the same look of uncertainty when he was lying, Sam could pick up on it. Mardra knew the Outcasts, true, but he had no idea what they had come for at all.

The Chocobos came to a halt and the riders got off. There were five men in black no one recognized; the two out front were noticeable: Feardorcha and his brother, Garen.

"Fear, buddy ol' pal," Sam said stepping purposely in front of Mia, "what's the story?"

"Someone spotted hunters in this direction, it appears you've handled it," Fear replied.

"A long time ago," Seral said.

"We can transport Norich's granddaughter back for you, if you like," Fear said.

"We got it, thanks," Sam said.

"It would be faster on a Chocobo," Fear pointed out.

"Well, in that case," said a voice followed by a golden Chocobo, both came to a halt between the Outcasts and the others, "she can ride with me."

The man on the gold Chocobo wore a dark red coat that appeared to be made out of some kind of lizard scales, the signature clothing of Sorin Tether; Sam could recognize the man from a mile away. Sam also knew, everyone knew, Sorin wasn't a huge fan of the Outcasts.

"We wouldn't want you to have to do too much work, Sorin," Garen put in, "they say you're in line as an Elder, unfortunate if you died on your ride back."

"It would be, yes," Sorin said, "but it's fairly straight road, Streamer here is also quite a good Chocobo, as well. You should consider upgrading those blacks for golds…but that would destroy that dark and gloomy theme you're all going for, I suppose."

Fear smiled, "Very well, as long as you have the situation under control."

"It will never get so bad that the Outcasts will have to control it, I guarantee," Sorin replied.

No Outcast responded to that, they mounted their rides and were gone. Sorin watched them until they were long out of sight, then turned his attention to the others.

"What kind of trouble are you in now, Sam?" asked Sorin.

"Now, why is it you always think things are my doing?" asked Sam smiling.

"Because they usually are," Sorin said.

"It appears it was I this time," Mia said, stepping out from behind Sam.

"Well, I'm not actually allowed to blame you for anything, it has to go to someone," Sorin laughed.

Sam shrugged, "Beat up on Sam, why not?"

"I'll have someone come back and collect those Sigurd as soon as possible, we're losing far too many good men to these hunters," Sorin said, "can I take her off your hands Mardra?"

"I haven't been having too much luck with leaving her protection to other people, but for you, Sorin, I'll allow it," Mardra replied.

"Listen to him," Seral said, "like his opinion means anything."

Sam laughed, "Yeah that's okay Sorin, we don't need a ride, we'll walk."

"That's good," Mia said patting Sam on the shoulder as she walked by, "because there's only room for two on Streamer."

"I see why you and Sorin get along," Sam muttered, "the sarcasm isn't amusing."

"You're so good at it, Sam, I'm sure you'll be able to throw some back, tenfold," Sorin said, helping Mia on to the Chocobo.

"Now, if I find out you two went to your secret make-out spot I will have to exact my guardian punishment," Mardra warned.

"Hey, hey," Sam said waving his hands, "no one's supposed to know about the make-out spot, some Elders can read minds you know."

"Norich likes you man, I don't see why you feel you need a _secret _make-out spot," Mardra said.

"Why don't you leave such decisions to us, yes?" suggested Sorin turning the Chocobo.

Mia only smiled as their ride started moving.

"You realize if they find out she's pregnant before you tell them you're in trouble!" Seral yelled after Sorin.

He made an obscene gesture over his shoulder before Streamer was well out of sight.

"Norich is never gonna let her marry him, you realize," Mardra said, staring after the gold Chocobo.

"But they will get married," Seral said smiling.

"They already picked out the kid's name," Sam said shrugging, "with or without the big man's permission, I'm going to that wedding, I tell ya. One of us, marrying a higher up."

"He's not really one of us anymore, he's a Sigurd, on his way to Elder," Mardra said.

"But he _was_," Seral said, "he got lucky, you got guardian, and Sam and I got…"

Seral looked at Sam.

"What did we get?" asked Sam.

"Really good…" Mardra said at length, "…role models?"

"That works," Seral said.

"You said they picked the kid's name already, what is it?" asked Mardra.

"Yeah, I get the inside info, I'm a little more hooked-up than some like to think, just gotta find the loopholes, you know," Sam said, "I heard for a boy it'll be Faremisu."

"That's an odd one, what about if it's a girl?" asked Mardra.

Sam started heading back toward home, "I heard something about the name Ifalna."


	23. Conspiracy

**Chapter 23**

**Conspiracy**

Sam, Seral, and Mardra returned to their settlement after about an hour's walk and found the place in a bustle, people running from side to side, picking things up and running in another direction. People tripping over other people and enough to almost knock Sam off his feet as he entered.

"The hell's happening here?" murmured Sam, finding his balance after almost being run down by a second Cetra.

The settlement consisted of mostly fancy, coloured, tents set up all around. The Cetra, being nomadic, were always prepared to take down their small homes and move on to the next place if need be. Due to the increasing frequency of harassment from hunters, they'd had to move a lot more than usual. The only difference was the huge black tent which was to house the Elders of their settlement, and at this point, considering how little were left, pretty much the ruling Elders of _all _Cetra.

"The Elders have finally lost it and have started killing everyone off?" asked Mardra.

"The Elders look to be hiding in their little tent," Seral pointed out, "like they usually do when things go down."

"Let's get some information, shall we?" Sam suggested, and made his way through a group of Cetra.

Sam spotted someone he recognized, walking calmly through the sea of panicked Cetra.

"Alex," Sam yelled over the noise of the crowd.

Alexius Ferraros was a high-ranking guardian, he was in charge of all the other guardians, and did part time as the personal guardian for all five of the Cetra Elders. He was Mardra's, and every other guardians', boss, and had assigned Mardra to Mia only recently.

Alex didn't appear to hear Sam, so he tried yelling again and getting closer, this time the guardian looked in Sam's direction.

"Samael," Alex greeted in that calm voice that never seemed to get higher, or lower, no matter what the scenario. The blank, shadowy, eyes seemed to cut through the crowd toward Sam.

"What's the deal?" asked Sam.

"Mia's been missing, have you seen her?" asked Alex.

"Oh, yeah, we saw her about an hour ago," Seral said coming up behind Sam, "Sorin was riding her back here on Streamer."

Alex shook his head, "We haven't seen either of them, this mess of people is supposed to be some semblance of preparing a search party."

"What the hell are the Elders doing?" asked Mardra.

"Nothing," Alex replied, "except plotting how they can stick this on Sorin and you, Mardra."

Mardra muttered a curse.

"Don't worry," Alex said grinning, "if she's with Sorin she's fine, I won't let any of this fall on you."

"This guy right here saved her ass; by the way," Sam said matter-of-factly, "you shoulda seen this crazy disguise thing he pulled."

Alex nodded, "I'm not surprised, and that's why I assigned Mia as your charge, Mardra."

"What can we do?" asked Seral.

"You try and round up some people, get this organized, Mardra will help you, best Mia's guardian avoid the Elders for now," Alex said, Mardra nodded. "Samael, why don't you and I have a chat with the Elders?"

Sam smiled, "You know how much I love talking to them."

"I know," Alex said, "that's why I'm bringing you, you're one of the few who actually get on their nerves. Their lack of action is becoming annoying; I'd like to force them into doing something if I can."

"I'm your man," Sam said, "and stop calling me Samael, no one else really does."

Alex simply gestured to the Elders' tent and they headed that way.

After dodging another few stray Cetra they hit the tent and entered.

The front area was like a waiting room, this opened up to another large tent where the Elders sat at a long wooden table. Five men, side-by-side, the man in the centre was the one with the most power, Norrich.

Two Sigurd stood guard at the entrance of the second tent.

Alex nodded to them and they nodded back, silent exchange completed, Sam and Alex entered. The Elders were all sitting calmly at their table as the two Cetra entered.

"Alexius and Samael," Norrich said, with a little bit of venom on Samael's name.

"Elders," Alex greeted.

"How can we help you?" asked Norrich.

"There is complete disarray outside," Alex said deadpan, "we were hoping for some order."

"They will sort themselves out well enough," one Elder replied.

"We have other plans to make," Norrich added.

"Plans?" asked Alex.

"Finding my granddaughter and her kidnapper," Norrich said.

"I wasn't aware there was a kidnapper," Alex replied.

"She was last seen with Sorin Tether, neither have returned, unless they have both been captured, we must assume Sorin is to blame," another Elder stated.

Sam rolled his eyes, "Jesus on ice skates, man, you just jump right at accusing Sorin, have you even taken the other option into consideration?"

"As it is unlikely a Sigurd of Sorin's status could be apprehended so easily, we must assume this is his doing, he has motive," Norrich explained.

"What?" Sam asked incredulously. "What motive, he's in line to be an Elder; he's a respected Sigurd, what freaking motive?"

"He was, and never will be an Elder, in fact I don't know where that rumour began," said one of the other Elders.

Even Alex appeared a bit shocked on this note, "I had heard—"

"You had heard wrong," cut in Norrich.

"When did this crap come down? Before or after you realized he was screwing Mia," Sam growled.

Every Elder seemed to freeze for a moment; Alex glared at Sam out of the corner of his eye.

"We're in enough trouble as it is," Sam went on, "do you really think we need all this inner fighting shit you guys got going. I realize you're a complete ass about who your granddaughter goes out with but for the love of _Odin_, when does it stop?"

"I think you should leave," Norrich replied.

Sam was a bit taken aback, just _leave_, usually the Elders put up more of a fight than that, "That's it? That's all you got? You're not even trying to cover up your conspiracy against Sorin?"

"There is no conspiracy," one Elder said, "if he is proven to be innocent of the accused action then he will not be punished."

"If it were an Elder out there you wouldn't be so quick to lay down the kidnapping charge," Sam said.

"An Elder would have returned with Mia," Norrich said, "thus is why Sorin is not a candidate."

"Maybe because he's doing Mia," Sam yelled, "_thus_, you want him gone."

"I would appreciate your leaving Mia out of this," Norrich said forcefully.

"I bet you would," Sam retorted, "but that's what this is about. You know they're Romeo and Juliet, and you can't do a damn thing about it, this is your only option."

"Much like that story, Samael," Norrich replied, "Mia is arranged to marry someone else, she will have nothing to do with Sorin Tether."

Sam went to say something, but froze, "Is that what we've been lowered to?"

The Elders looked at him questioningly.

"Arranged marriages?" asked Sam. "Dumb-ing love down to arranged marriages, you're fucking with the system that's run the Cetra for countless years!"

"It is unusual, sir," Alex agreed.

"Your opinions mean nothing in this matter," Norrich said. "She is royalty here, and she will marry royalty."

"What now you dope?" asked Sam. "In-breeding, your great granddaughter's gonna be a hick from Arkansas!"

Alex looked at Sam confused.

"It's a place in the United St…it's a place very far away from here," Sam quickly clarified. Sam did do some existence jumping for the Elders, so he happened to know a lot of things that others wouldn't.

"Mia will marry a higher up from another settlement, as she is meant to," Norrich said, "there is no negotiation here."

"The fuck there isn't, someone's gonna—" Sam started, a yell cut him off.

"_She's back, Mia has returned, get the Elders_!" came the yell.

Every Elder jumped up and headed out of the tent, Sam and Alex followed.

Once outside, they spotted Mia, she looked ragged and tired; she could barely walk and was being supported by a guardian. Sorin was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is Sorin Tether?" demanded Norrich to both Mia and the guardian.

"He attempted to make off with your granddaughter, Elder Norrich, I had him killed," the guardian replied.

Sam and Alex just about fell over, the look of pleasure on Norrich's face was about as obvious as it could be.

"Well done, guardian, what is your name?" asked Norrich.

"Wymond," the guardian replied.

"You will be rewarded highly for this, come, I'll take care of Mia from here," Norrich said, taking her off Wymond's hands. The Elders swept past Sam and Alex, back into the tent.

"That's taking it too damn far," Sam growled, "Jesus, Sorin."

The guardian stepped forward and gestured for Sam and Alex to listen, "Which of you is Samael?"

Sam looked at the guardian curiously, the man who had killed Sorin, "I am."

Wymond smiled, "Alexius, can you keep a secret?"

"The more dangerous the better," Alex replied with his own smile.

Sam looked between the two, "Am I missing something here?"

"Samael, this is Wymond, my right hand man so to speak," Alex explained, "as soon as I'd heard about Mia I sent him off to find her before the Elders sent their own to look."

"It has become far more complicated than at first anticipated, Alexius," Wymond said, "our lives may be in danger here."

"What news?" asked Alex, looking a bit concerned.

"You won't believe me if I told you," Wymond said, "but we cannot speak of it here."

Alex nodded, "You two, come with me."

Sam followed the guardians, his head was shooting in circles, not entirely sure as to what the hell was going on. They were a few miles from the settlement limits before they stopped.

"Speak, Wymond," Alex said.

"Sorin is very much alive," Wymond began, for Sam's sake mostly, "and very much innocent of the crime I reported him committing."

"Where the hell is he then?" asked Sam.

"I will take you to him shortly," Wymond said, "but first I must warn you of a terrible danger that looms very close to home."

"What is it?" asked Alex.

Wymond hesitated, "Sorin and Mia encountered a group of especially talented hunters, the two would have been killed entirely had I not shown myself, and had Sorin not been as skilled as he is. We managed to take one of these hunters alive; he speaks of working for two very high-ranking men, by the names Nasir and Shar. True haters of the Cetra, as I understand it, after some questioning Sorin and I managed to get out of them that they had been, in fact, hired _by_ Cetra to hunt down other Cetra!"

"That's not possible," Alex whispered.

"He's gotta be lying," Sam said.

"I said you would not believe my words," Wymond said, "let Sorin tell you himself. There is one thing yet I must tell, the hunter reported the names of the Cetra that hired their leaders, Nasir and Shar."

"Tell me who they are so I can kill them myself," Sam growled.

Wymond looked slowly between Sam and Alex, "The hunters were employed by the Elders."


	24. The Plan

**Chapter 24**

**The Plan**

They had suddenly been thrown into a very dangerous situation, a hopeless situation; Sam was always a very optimistic person, however.

"Guys, we're fucked," Sam stated, walking with Wymond and Alex to where Sorin was said to be waiting.

Optimistic most of the time, anyways…

"We have to consider the fact that this hunter may be lying entirely," Alex said.

"This man is no strategist," Wymond said, "I don't believe he has the capacity to create a ruse…probably not enough to create a basic Knock-Knock Joke, for that matter."

"You know what a Knock-Knock Joke is?" asked Sam.

"Wymond also does some existence jumping for the Elders, mostly for my benefit," Alex explained. "He'll be able to understand everything you're saying."

"Final Fantasy VII or VIII?" asked Sam.

"VIII had far greater graphics, but VII a much more powerful, and interesting, story-line," Wymond replied, then looked at Sam, "I go with VII, and yourself?"

"Metal Gear Solid," Sam replied, "the Final Fantasies come second."

Alex looked between the two, puzzled.

"I wasn't aware other games were in question," Wymond said, "had I known I likely would have mentioned Resident Evil."

"Resident Evil?" asked Sam incredulously, "man, the controls in those suck! You're stumbling around like a robot, trying to figure out camera angles, _while_ running from zombies."

"Resident Evil 4 fixed those shortcomings however," Wymond replied.

"I didn't like the fact there weren't any freaking _zombies_ in it," Sam said.

"Though the game was enjoyable I agree on that point, up until then, the entire idea of a Resident Evil was zombies, now they've suddenly—"

"Alright, alright!" Alex growled waving his hands, "I said he could understand what you're saying, not have a conversation. You're driving me mad."

"Sorry," Wymond said.

"Maybe we should get back on topic," Sam added.

"Yes," Alex muttered thankfully.

"Guys," Sam began, "we're fucked."

"Maybe something productive, Samael?" asked Alex.

"That was the topic," Sam replied.

§§

-_Back on the Shera_

"Are we going to get to the part where we find out whom our enemy is at some point?" asked Vincent, cutting Sam off in mid-sentence.

Everyone else had been previously enjoying the dialogue between the three Cetra, but were brought back to reality by Vincent's question.

"Trust me, my friend," Sorin assured, "everything we're telling you has a purpose."

Vincent looked at Sorin.

"Alright, well maybe not that last part about the video games, but I was getting to the important part," Sam said.

"Then get to it," Vincent replied.

"Wymond had left me at a large rock formation, which would be later destroyed to make space for a place you all know as Fort Condor," Sorin continued…

§§

_-somewhere near Fort Condor (pre-construction), hundreds of years ago_

Alex, Sam, and Wymond finished their tedious journey to where Wymond had left Sorin last.

"You really had a bit of a walk back, didn't you?" asked Sam to Wymond.

Wymond shrugged.

"Where exactly did you leave him?" asked Alex.

Wymond pointed to a large formation of rocks, "Those rocks create something of a natural structure. There are only two entrances, both easily viewed by Sorin. I told him to watch both carefully until I returned with Sam."

"Me specifically?" asked Sam.

"He asked for you, but I knew I could trust Alex, I figure we could use the help in any case," Wymond replied.

"Why me?" asked Sam.

"Ask Sorin," Wymond said shrugging.

The three entered the rock formation cautiously; they stepped into one of the medium sized holes and had to crouch a bit to finally enter fully. They stood upright and found themselves surrounded by, as Wymond explained, a natural construction around them. One might have been fooled into thinking the place were in fact a house built for people to live in.

"Nice place," Sam murmured.

"It does the trick," Sorin replied, his voice echoing around the "room" if it could even be called such a thing.

The Sigurd appeared, walking around a large rock to their left.

"Sorin, Wymond explained the situation fairly clearly," Alex said.

"I doubt if such a situation as this can be very clear," Sorin said gesturing for them to follow him, "I suppose you know about the hunter?"

They nodded and followed Sorin to another small "room" in the rock formation.

They found, after a few moments, a man in common hunter clothing lying unconscious on the rocky ground, hands tied behind his back.

"He's unavailable for talking at the moment, but I can wake him," Sorin said deadpan.

"How do we know he isn't lying?" asked Alex.

"Well, unless he's playing dumb, I'd go by the fact he isn't very smart," Sorin replied matter-of-factly.

"Wymond mentioned something like that," Alex said grinning.

"Sorin, why did you ask for me?" asked Sam.

Sorin looked at Sam curiously.

"Wymond said you asked for me," Sam reiterated.

"We may be going up against the Elders themselves," Sorin said shrugging, "who better to employ than someone who is already so adept at breaking rules."

"Hey, I've been on the straight-and-narrow since that…" Sam trailed off and looked at the other people in the room, "well…you know the thing…but after that I've been entirely legal."

"What about the paradox you caused last week?" asked Sorin.

"You said I should use that doorway!" Sam retorted.

"But you knew it would cause a paradox," Sorin countered.

"Well…yeah," Sam muttered.

"And you have no regret, that's exactly why I need you here," Sorin said, "we may yet become rebels, and I need a rebel to start us off. Rebellion is what you do, Samael."

"I can see you're actually considering a battle, Sorin," Alex said, "and in your situation, I understand the choice, but do you honestly think you can overthrow the Elders?"

"Yes, actually, I do," Sorin said, "I wouldn't have sent Mia back to the settlement without a plan, my friend."

"Enlighten us," Alex requested.

"Take a seat," Sorin said, gesturing to the ground, "the first part of the plan is quite simple."

"Somehow I doubt that," Sam murmured.

"I assume Wymond has told you of Nasir and Shar, the leaders of the hunters hired by the Elders?" asked Sorin.

Alex and Sam nodded.

"While Wymond was fetching you, I uncovered where they are camped," Sorin said, "not too far east of here. It's something of a large settlement, similar to that of our own."

"You wanna take it out?" asked Sam.

"Maybe, eventually," Sorin said, "but I am a Sigurd, my friend, capable of looking at things from all angles, all options are open…if I couldn't, I wouldn't be a Sigurd."

"So you're thinking we do some reconnaissance," Sam said, "wait to see what they do, get a bead on Nasir and Shar. Maybe catch an Elder or two red-handed?"

Sorin smiled, "It appears the job of Sigurd is not lost on you either."

"Sigurd aren't allowed to be rebels," Sam replied.

"At this point," Wymond said, "I'd have to disagree."

"We stake the place out, see what we can see," Alex said.

"If we get information we can use from that, then we'll go from that point," Sorin said, "if in two days we find nothing, we move to plan B."

"You wanna take it out," Sam went back to his original suggestion.

"Yes," Sorin agreed.

"I'm confused as to why you sent Mia back to the settlement if you know the Elders are the bad guys," Sam said.

"She'll be safer there than anywhere else," Sorin said, "she knows of the conspiracy, we'll collect her after this is sorted out."

"I think I've seen a similar strategy in a book," Sam said, "it didn't turn out so well for the chick."

Everyone looked at Sam curiously.

"Charyou Tree," Sam said to Wymond, who then seemed to understand.

"I don't think the Dark Tower Series is a relevant equivalent," Wymond said.

"Sigurd equals Gunslinger, Mia equals Susan?" asked Sam.

"That's a stretch," Wymond replied.

"Let's hope so," Sam muttered.

Sorin looked at Alex in puzzlement.

"Don't ask me," Alex muttered, "I hate it when they do that."

§§

_-on the Shera_

"Dark Tower Series?" asked Cid looking between the Cetra in confusion.

"Oh, yeah, well that's basically just this really awesome series of books by this dude, Stephen King, anyways the one I was referring to doesn't end so well for the chick and…" Sam stopped as he noticed the blank looks on everyone's faces.

"Does this hold any relevance to the story?" asked Vincent.

"Well, technically, now that you mention it, the analogy Sam was attempting to use at the time did make sense, in one way or another," Wymond said.

"It didn't turn out the same way, Mia was fine and all, but it might have been different had certain things not happened," Sam added.

"Even if they hadn't, and Mia had died, it wouldn't have technically been in the same manner as the book either, but the loose comparison does make sense," Wymond agreed.

"Does anybody understand what the hell they're talking about?" asked Cid.

Vincent leaned against the wall he stood at and shook his head, "I've long since stopped trying."


	25. The Enemy

**Chapter 25**

**The Enemy**

Sam, Sorin, Alex and Wymond positioned themselves close together, but spread out enough that they could keep a good eye on as much of the hunter settlement as possible.

"I thought there'd be more of them walking around," Sam muttered.

Sorin nodded, "I agree, they must be out on a hunt."

"I've only seen one or two hunters in and out of tents," Alex put in, "how many hunters do they usually take on an expedition."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Wymond said, "where are all the others?"

"Maybe they're off killing time, waiting for some kind of go ahead from their bosses," Sam suggested.

"We've only been watching for a few hours," Sorin said, "something may change in time."

"There anything we need to know about this Shar or Nasir?" asked Alex.

Sorin nodded, "I suppose I could give you the basic idea of who they are."

"Should we be worried about them?" asked Wymond.

"With the Elders backing them, obviously, yes," Sorin said, "but them alone, I would only keep my eye on Shar."

"Why Shar?" asked Sam.

"Nasir is just another hunter, albeit well trained, but still just a hunter," Sorin explained, "Shar, however, is not only a hunter, but an existence jumper as well."

"A hunter that travels existences?" asked Alex.

"I didn't think that was really possible," Sam added.

"We Cetra are not the only people to have found a way to manipulate the structure of time and space, don't be fooled," Sorin said, "we may seem a majestic culture, but anything we can do, they can do as well."

"So what's up with this Shar then, he gonna be able to understand my jokes?" asked Sam.

Alex chuckled.

"That, yes, and his travels have aided him with equipment that could be even superior to our own," Sorin replied ominously. "Whatever his travels gained him through existences, it is clear that Shar is not to be trifled with. He's a threat, more so than any other. I suppose that's why the Elders would pick him over any other force."

"I can't believe the Elders want you dead that bad," Alex said shaking his head, "it doesn't make any sense. I understand the discrepancy with Norrich's granddaughter, but this going too far."

"He's very intent on Mia marrying a high-ranking member of another Cetra settlement," Sorin shrugged, "so much so he'd like to remove the competition entirely."

"We heard the story," Sam said, "I guess he knows she's into you, the only option he's got is to remove the obstacles, like you said."

"This is a very extensive betrayal, Sorin," Wymond said shaking his head in disbelief, "the results this could have on an Elder, should it be discovered, would be crippling."

"Norrich is gambling, must be desperate," Sorin said, "he's not stupid, he must realize there is also the fact that Shar may turn on him after the deed is done. Norrich must have another plan for the hunters."

"Or he feels he's paying them good enough for a temporary cease fire," Sam put in.

"Possibly," Sorin agreed.

Wymond gestured at the others, "I believe our leaders have just exited their tent."

Everyone looked, indeed, below them stood two very official-looking hunters. One had short blonde hair and the other a sandy brown. The sandy brown haired hunter wore some fancy black armour that Sam had never seen before. Though the sandy-haired man looked smaller in stature than the blonde, Sam would have guessed the smaller guy was the dominant one. He seemed far more commanding.

"Shar is the sandy-haired hunter, the blonde is Nasir," Sorin said, "they are here, so where are their men?"

A sword appeared very close to Sam's neck, the blade leaned lightly against his skin.

"Don't even think about moving, Cetra," said a female voice from behind him.

"Well," Sam muttered, "there's one of them."

Hunters appeared from behind rocks and out of bushes, as if from thin air.

"There's the rest," Wymond said.

"Start moving toward the settlement," said one hunter, "slowly, don't try anything."

Sorin looked at Sam, "Too many of them, besides, I was hoping to meet their leaders anyways."

"That you will," said the female hunter.

The large group of hunters crawled out of the darkness and escorted the Cetra into the settlement, and stood them in front of Shar and Nasir.

"Where did you find them?" asked the one Sorin had pointed out as Shar.

"Your men are getting particularly better at hiding, Shar," Alex said.

"That's a good trait for them, now that we understand actual _fighting_ isn't their strong suit," Sam added.

"Let me kill the comedians," Nasir said in a gravelly voice.

"Well I think we know who the brain of the operation is here," Sam said, "Shar talks, and Nasir can hardly come up with a coherent sentence. I wonder, can he actually say anything else or is that his only line."

"I think maybe he can switch out _comedians_ for another noun, it's really a universal line in that sense," Sorin said.

"My friend here doesn't need to be very smart to tear you apart," Shar said.

"Wow, you are the intelligent one," Sam said in mock incredulity, "that was like poetry, you hear that? _Smart _and _apart_, you're a poet and you didn't even know it!"

"You're all very chipper for a group of Cetra in such a dire situation," Shar commented.

"We're Cetra," Sorin replied, "we were _born_ into a dire situation."

Shar laughed, "True enough, that's why I'm giving you a break."

"Break?" asked Sam. "I realize this might be tough work for you, but we Cetra can stand in one spot and talk for quite a while before needing a break."

Shar grinned, "Maybe I'll let Nasir kill just you."

"Why do they always pick me out of a crowd?" asked Sam.

"We aren't going to kill you," Shar said. "Not right now anyways."

"Why's that?" asked Alex.

"We know you're from the Cetra settlement where we were hired, we might be able to use information from you, for other Cetra settlements as well," Shar said.

"Our settlement?" asked Sorin. "You realize you're supposed to be killing _me_, right?"

Shar smiled yet again, "Sorin Tether, you needn't have worried about you and your beloved Mia, at all. The prize your Elders have offered us is worthless compared to what we can gain with our own plans."

"Dead Elders," Sam said, "they trust you because you're working for them, you intend to stab them in the back."

"Actually," Shar replied, "I was intending on stabbing them while they were facing me, but I suppose the stabbing part remains, yes."

Sam chuckled, "If you weren't such a bad dude, I might almost like you."

"I assure you," Shar replied, "I'm a very likeable person, if you can get past the whole killing Cetra for money part of my personality."

"So who's paying you to kill the Elders?" asked Wymond.

Shar looked at Wymond curiously, "What makes you think I'm being paid to kill the Elders?"

"You said yourself, you kill Cetra for money," Alex put in.

Shar shook his head, "You misunderstand, I do kill Cetra for money, but that's only when I need money. On my time off I kill Cetra for sport."

"Well, you'll never get a date with that sort of profile," Sam muttered.

"Why exactly do you hate us so much?" asked Sorin.

"Well that's really the million dollar question, now, isn't it?" asked Shar.

"Dollar?" asked Alex looking at Sam.

"It's like Gil," Sam replied.

"Oh," Alex murmured.

"I apologize; I forget we all haven't been outside our own existence," Shar said, "but that is essentially the answer to your question. I hate Cetra because I know what they can, and _will_, become if they continue to exist."

"What's he talking about?" asked Alex.

"Shar, because you've seen some alternate reality where things were bad doesn't mean that's gonna happen everywhere," Sam replied. "Outcasts, Gypsies, every Cetra can be a bad apple, but honestly, that doesn't speak for every one of them. If you're gonna crusade against the bad Cetra, crusade _them_."

"You don't understand," Shar replied, "something is coming. Evil is coming, and it will affect everyone."

"Evil?" asked Sam.

"A creature not of this planet, of any planet as far as we know," Shar said.

"That describes a lot of creatures, man," Sam said.

Shar nodded, "Ancient Black, that's what you're thinking, yes?"

"No, we know where that comes from," Sorin replied, "darkness in the Lifestream."

"A good point, valid," Shar agreed, "what I speak of comes from outer space."

"Aliens?" asked Sam. "I've seen Independence Day, that wasn't pretty."

"I don't believe this creature is interested in destroying the White House, no," Shar chuckled, "but it will destroy just about everything else."

"Say we believe you," Sorin cut in, "what is it?"

"It calls itself Jenova," Shar said, "and it intends to use you Cetra as its route to the Lifestream, and then to the destruction of this planet. It is like a virus that will completely wipe this planet and its inhabitants out."

"Jenova," Sorin muttered.

"I've heard that before," Alex muttered, "something about that name, wasn't it the mural in the Temple?"

Shar nodded, "The Meteor, you've seen the mural, as have I. I'm sure if you read some of your arcane history books you'll come to the same conclusion as I."

"Wait," Alex said, "so your reasoning is that by killing us, you're doing the planet a _favour_?"

"Yes, but even after you're all dead Jenova could still manipulate the Lifestream. The only option is to completely wipe out the Lifestream itself," Shar said, "but that's a strange conundrum, because destroying the Lifestream will also destroy the planet. The only option we have for survival is to destroy only the Cetra, and hope the Lifestream lives on."

"You're not even considering trying to fight this Jenova?" asked Sam.

"Maybe someone, some time in the future, will fight it and whoever it enslaves, but I had been hoping to stop it altogether, however I'm running short on time," Shar went on, "destroying your settlement will put me well on my way to success, maybe turn the tides against Jenova."

"How do you plan to kill the Cetra once they've died and gone to the Lifestream as well as those still alive?" asked Sorin.

"There is a method of doing that, don't worry, it's killing the ones still alive that will pose an inconvenience," Shar signaled the other hunters, "I feel our meeting has gone on long enough, we march for your settlement tonight. If it gives you any comfort, we will be killing every last one of your treacherous Elders while we're there."

"That does actually make me feel a little better," Sam said, "but you're also killing everyone else."

Shar shrugged, "Well, we can't have everything we want. Lock them up in one of the tents and then join the rest of the army."

A few hunters started to push the Cetra into the settlement as Nasir and Shar went with the other huge grouping toward the Cetra settlement.

"I'm not without mercy," Shar yelled back, "unlike some hunters, I assure you, my men will give your fellow Cetra quick deaths. Killing is my forte, not torture."

The Cetra said nothing as Shar and his army marched away.

§§

_--on the Shera_

"So basically, we took out the hunters guarding us, got our asses back to the settlement, fought it out with the hunters and managed to push them back and scatter them enough that they never came back," Sam said.

"Wymond managed to kill Nasir, but nearing the end of the battle Shar disappeared, we imagine to another existence, we're still not sure where," Sorin added.

"So you believe Shar is our enemy?" asked Vincent.

Sorin nodded, "He fits the description."

"The method he was talking about, the one he was going to use to kill the Cetra who are already dead," Sam said, "he was speaking of the Bane, I don't think it's a coincidence our enemy is summoning the Bane, I think it's Shar enacting his plan."

"It took him this long? The hell was he waiting for?" asked Cid.

Sorin shrugged, "I don't know."

"Probably Jenova," Wymond put in, "when Jenova actually came, Shar might have thought he was too late. When Cloud and the others stopped Sephiroth…twice…he must have decided he was given another chance."

"Alright then, the question remains—" Vincent started.

"What happened at the settlement?" Tifa asked, cutting Vincent off.

"I told you, we beat the crap out of the hunters," Sam replied.

"That can't be all," Tifa said, "Sorin said you saved Mia's life."

"Oh, that, that was really nothing," Sam said shrugging, "one of the hunters had a crossbow trained on her and I didn't have the time or energy at that point to use my telekinesis to stop it."

"He jumped in front of her from about a foot away and took the bolt in the left shoulder," Wymond added, "it was quite spectacular, I imagine it would have hurt though."

"Yeah, the landing on the ground wasn't so great either," Sam said.

"You were a regular hero in your younger days," Sorin said, "you seemed very fond of taking hits for other people."

"It happened more than once?" asked Tifa.

"The sword doesn't count," Sam said.

"You still saved Alex," Wymond argued.

"Yeah, but it still hit him," Sam retorted, "after putting a large hole in my right hand."

"The reason Sam got the recognition he did while he was in the Lifestream was because of what he did while he was alive," Wymond said.

"Dude, they made me the Grim Reaper, I collected dead people," Sam said shaking his head.

"They made you unable to die on most planes of existence, and overlook most or all of your little _loopholes_, as you call them," Sorin said. "And you saved my wife, that's why I cover up the little problems the higher-ups _wouldn't _overlook."

"I thought you did that because of our undying friendship," Sam replied.

"That too," Sorin added unconvincingly.

"I didn't realize you all had such a history," Tifa said smiling.

"Everything is connected, my dear, in one way or another," Sorin said, "Sorin saved Mia which led to the birth of Ifalna, who met Gast and was taken care of until Hojo appeared, which then led to Aeris being born and taken care of until she met Cloud, which brings us back to Jenova and Sephiroth, then Aeris' death, then more recently her resurrection which brought you to Wymond, and then Sam here, and then me."

"And you are Aeris' grandfather, which brings us back full circle to Aeris," Vincent added.

Sorin smiled, "Quite so."

"All roads lead to Aeris," Sam said, "that happens a lot doesn't it?"

"Almost too much," Vincent agreed.

"Does she know about you, Sorin?" asked Tifa.

Sorin looked at her, "About my being her grandfather? No, I'd rather she didn't know."

"Why?" asked Tifa.

"The time between when I was alive and when she was alive is far too large a gap, the meeting would be too awkward, hard to explain, I'd rather she thought of me as just another Elder, a friend," Sorin replied, "I do visit her often in other existences, that's what I was doing back at Midgar before the zombies appeared…it's my way of getting to know her like she was, while she was alive and I was long dead."

Tifa didn't know what to say.

Sam pretended to start crying, "Oh my God, that was beautiful."

"In any case, I believe our story is complete," Sorin said.

"I'm surprised no one's asked Sorin the age old question yet," Wymond said.

"Huh?" asked Tifa.

"Whether Cloud was better with Aeris, or Tifa?" asked Vincent.

Everyone looked back at him.

"Now, who'd have thought _Vincent,_ of all people here, would be the one to come out with the age old question?" asked Sam shaking his head.

"Well," Sorin said, "as for my opinion on who would be good for my granddaughter I have no such opinion, that would be far too…"

"_Norrich-like_?" asked Sam.

"…Yes," Sorin agreed, "too Norrich-like. And as I have never met this Cloud in person, I know him only by deed and what I've seen; I don't know enough to have an opinion."

"Figures," Sam muttered, "the only relative of Aeris sitting right there and he has no opinion."

"Maybe you should try that, Sam, having no opinion," Wymond said grinning.

"Yes," Vincent agreed, not grinning, "it would likely be better for all of us."


	26. Shadows of the Mind

**Chapter 26**

**Shadows of the Mind**

Wymond stood silently, looking into the sparkling water below him. This would be the third time in a matter of hours he was calling on his contact. The more he did it, the more dangerous it was for the contact. Unfortunately, without the guidance of that person they were going nowhere. Then again, they might get nowhere with that guidance as well.

Wymond muttered something under his breath and jumped headlong into the water, immediately he was connected with his contact.

"We're doing this too often," Wymond said immediately.

"Don't worry, they won't find me," the contact replied.

"If they did it would not go over so well," Wymond said.

"They won't, so why don't you stop worrying about me, I'm fine, you're the one in danger," the contact said.

"Very well, any news, then?" asked Wymond.

"I still don't know who your main bad guy is, but I found a way for you to track down the Paradoxer you're looking for," the contact informed.

"Kyra," Wymond muttered.

"That's right, she's not there anymore, I'm not sure where she went, but she's gone," the contact said.

"You know someone who knows where she went?" asked Wymond.

"You know him, too," the contact said.

"Teleran?" asked Wymond.

"That's the one."

"He's probably long gone now, as well," Wymond said.

"Not quite, he still thinks Kyra's here, she left him behind," the contact said.

"Strange," Wymond murmured.

"I'm not sure what's going on inside her head, Wymond, but whatever it is, it must be important," the contact commented.

"If Teleran still thinks she's here how would he know where she is?" asked Wymond.

"Kind of a _paradox_, isn't it?"

Wymond cursed, "This is gonna be complicated."

"Sorin will know what to do, tell him that the key to finding what you're looking for is in the shadows of his mind," the contact said cryptically.

"Doing that on a person is very dangerous," Wymond said.

"What other option do you have?" asked the contact.

"We'll talk again soon, I'm sure," Wymond replied.

"Looking forward to it, good luck," the contact finished.

The connection was broken, and Wymond broke the surface of the water. He climbed to dry land, he was getting used to being soaked lately.

"Now, where the hell would Teleran be?" Wymond asked rhetorically.

Wymond exited the City of the Ancients and boarded the Shera, still dripping profusely with water.

"What's the verdict?" asked Sam, as Wymond entered the bridge.

"The answers are in the shadow of Teleran's mind," Wymond replied.

Sorin and Sam appeared to understand, obviously no one else did.

"Guess that message was meant for you, Sorin," Sam said.

"I suppose it was, it's clear we're getting desperate, that kind of thing is definitely grasping at straws," Sorin replied.

"Are you going to explain some of that, or should we try to guess?" asked Vincent.

"A side-effect of traveling around with a Paradoxer is that a person can actually start to get infected by the paradoxes," Sam explained, "someone like Teleran, the lap dog for a Paradoxer as strong as Kyra, he's probably dying from it. One problem with the disease is that you sort of build an inadvertent connection with the Paradoxer, like the connection between guardian and Cetra, so to speak."

"So Teleran knows where to find this Kyra, then?" asked Vincent.

"Yes and no," Sorin replied.

"It's never just one or the other, for fuck sakes," Cid murmured.

"Most of the information gets caught in an area of the brain people can't access on their own," Sorin went on.

"Like a kind of storage space, set aside for extra stuff that might come in," Sam said.

"The extra information more carves a spot into the brain, creating what we Cetra liked to call a _shadow area_," Sorin said, "in essence, it's an area of the brain blocked off by shadows, with no way for that person to break through the gloom to see, or even know, about the information."

"Which is all well and good, considering they aren't supposed to _know_ the said information, creating a small paradox within the paradox," Sam said.

Cid shook his head, "Look, I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but if you want me to do something you better give me directions in English."

"Sigurd and Elders are the only two Cetra given the ability to clear the shadow and look at the information," Sam said, "and my man Sorin, here, is an Elder."

"So then we can find out where Kyra is," Tifa said smiling.

"I can perform the task, yes," Sorin said, "but I do run the risk of killing him in the process."

"Show of hands," Sam said, "who's deeply disturbed by that fact?"

No hands were raised.

"I have no qualms about killing Teleran," Sorin said, "the trouble occurs if I kill him before we get the information we need."

"So," Sam shrugged, "don't kill him before we get the information we need."

"That's incredible, Sam, thank you, I believe you just solved the entire problem," Sorin muttered sarcastically.

"I do what I can," Sam replied.

"The question remains, how do we find Teleran?" asked Vincent.

"That, I can do as well," Sorin said, "now that we know for a fact he is indeed here, I can track him myself."

"How?" asked Tifa.

Sorin gestured for everyone to follow him, "Step into my office."

Everyone moved to follow him, but were suddenly blocked off by a large wooden desk, which appeared right in front of them out of nowhere.

"Welcome to my office," Sorin said smiling.

"Smart ass," Cid mumbled.

"In this black book," Sorin said, showing them a black book, "I keep a record of every paradox in every existence that appears and is alternately destroyed, mostly by Sam nowadays. This book also has the capability to show me the location of any person in any existence, the only catch is that person has to actually _be _in that existence. Either that, or you're going searching through an infinite number of existences."

"Incredible," Tifa muttered, "a book that can look into any existence."

"A looking glass into alternate worlds and existences so to speak, Elders of my status carry one," Sorin said, "there are very few existences that can deceive this little book, one of which is the place where Sam sent Aeris and Cloud."

Sam smiled, "If I made it easy for them to be found, it would defeat the purpose of breaking the rules."

"Indeed, a good hiding spot it is," Sorin agreed. "In any case, this existence is far from hard to read, I shall have Teleran's location in…"

Sorin paused and looked down, "…well, right now, actually."

"That was fast," Tifa commented.

"Yes, he was unexpectedly easy to find, he stands out in a crowd," Sorin said, still preoccupied by the book.

"Dude, what's up?" asked Sam, realizing something was off.

"It appears Teleran is far from alone, he is being chased," Sorin said.

"Chased?" asked Wymond.

"Yes, by an extremely large group of people," Sorin said.

"Chasing, or following?" asked Sam.

"Teleran is running, the chasers are walking," Sorin replied. "I believe that large group is comprised of zombies, actually."

"Oh shit," Cid growled, "those dead things're still roamin' around?"

"I thought they'd have disappeared when Kyra left," Wymond said, puzzled.

"It's gotta be because of Teleran, his shadow area might be a lot bigger than we expected," Sam said.

"It's retaining some of the Paradoxer's power?" asked Sorin. "That's possible, it would explain the zombies."

"If those things get to him we sure as hell won't be getting what we need to know," Cid said.

"Right you are, my airbourne friend," Sorin agreed, "fly this bird as fast as you can make her go, I don't think we have much time."

Cid nodded and immediately got the ship ready to fly, "Where am I going?"

"Head toward Midgar again, I believe you'll be able to see our target quite soon," Sorin said.

Cid moved the Shera; the craft was going on full tilt forward after only a few moments. Landscape blurred past on all sides, mountains and sky alike shot past at alarming rates. Inside, however, the speed wasn't affecting the passengers at all; the stabilizers in the ship were the best you could get. Inside, you wouldn't even know you were moving if you closed your eyes.

"Up ahead, see?" asked Sam, pointing.

Cid pulled the Shera to a crawl and then hovered, a few meters ahead; Teleran could easily be seen sprinting away from an extremely large group of zombies.

"Look at them all," Tifa murmured, "they must have gotten almost the entire population of Midgar!"

"This existence is very close to becoming doomed, we have to keep these creatures from crossing to another continent," Sorin said ominously.

"It's gonna take a long time to kill that many," Cid said, "even with all the weapons on the Shera."

"Well, we can't let the place be overrun by these zombies, either, right?" asked Tifa.

Sam smiled and looked at Vincent.

"What?" asked Vincent.

Sam nodded at the zombies, "I think a little _Chaos_ might be in order for this one, no?"


	27. Location

**Chapter 27**

**Location**

The Shera hovered a few meters from the shoreline, across the way Teleran was running out of places to go. Behind and to his left and right were countless zombies; in front was a large body of water.

A familiar sound made Teleran look up, at first he saw nothing, blue sky, but then a Shinra Chopper seemed to appear out of thin air and head toward him. Had Teleran not been aware of many different kinds of paradoxes, he might have been shocked, instead he was just confused as to why there was a Shinra Chopper coming toward him.

The cloaked Shera opened the doors for the chopper and let it out, so the thing appeared to come from out of nowhere. Vincent was in the pilot seat, with Sorin and Sam in the back area.

"Alright, what tall dark and shadowy here showed me should be good enough to keep this sucker in the air while he's absent," Sam said. As Sam wasn't a helicopter pilot, and had no idea how to go about the entire thing, Vincent had to show him the basic idea.

"There are a lot of zombies down there," Sorin said, "even with Chaos; it could take you a very long time to kill them all. Grabbing Teleran should be priority, bring him up here first."

"Let Sorin do his Vulcan Mind-Meld thing while you're down there blowing shit up," Sam reiterated.

"Vulcan what?" asked Vincent.

"Nothing," Sorin said, "just grab Teleran."

Vincent nodded, the chopper floated over land. Vincent immediately fired off the last of the chopper's weapons. The spray of bullets and explosions were enough to kill large groups of zombies and slow down their approach, but not enough to kill even a quarter of them.

Vincent handed the controls of the chopper over to Sam and then stood at one of the side doors.

"Have fun," Sam said.

Vincent said nothing and looked down toward the ground.

Below, Teleran used the chopper's attacks as, hopefully, a way to get clear of the creatures. He turned around and looked for a way through the large mass of zombies. There was a small opening to his right, but the chances of getting through without one of the monsters noticing was slim; it was, however, his only option at this point. Teleran started sprinting.

The zombies regrouped far faster than Teleran had hoped, and he was too close to the group now to turn around and run the other direction, too close to get away. He kicked the closest creature to the ground and jumped over, another two moved toward him, another three or four from another direction. If the first two hadn't, the others would have grabbed him, but suddenly Teleran was gone. The creatures stood around looking confused. One of the mindless monsters seemed to have the state of mind to look up to the sky, it saw Teleran shooting upward, carried by a menacing winged creature.

Chaos flew past the chopper and tossed Teleran through the door roughly, landing heavily against the back wall and then to the floor.

Sorin knelt down beside him, "Hello, Teleran."

Back on the ground, Chaos turned back from the chopper and headed toward the zombies again. Without a target the creatures seemed to have no purpose, they just walked around in random directions, waiting for something to come to them…something did.

Red streaked through the ranks of the zombies and an entire line of the creatures were torn to pieces. The ones just out of range of the attack staggered and fell to the ground. Chaos stood where the red streak had stopped.

What ensued was one of the most one-sided conflicts ever to exist. Most of the zombies didn't even see what was coming until they were long destroyed. The only reason it was taking time was because of the sheer number of them. Using Death Penalty was a bit of a waste, but it made the killing twice as fast. Strength of the enemy was irrelevant, as it usually was with Chaos, this time it was all about killing as many as possible as fast as possible. After a few minutes it wasn't even entertaining anymore.

Sam kept the chopper hovering, and watched Chaos go back and forth, killing zombies in every direction. He pulled out the bag of Jelly Beans he'd grabbed while running from the zombies before and started eating them.

"I need popcorn," Sam muttered.

Teleran let out a scream from the back of the chopper.

"He needs a muzzle," Sam added.

"Got it," Sorin said, sounding a little out of breath.

"Where is she?" asked Sam.

Sorin was writing the location in his black book, then he sat in the seat beside Sam, "Fringe existence, regular Paradoxer hideout."

"I hate fringe existences," Sam growled.

"Who knows, maybe Kyra made the place enjoyable," Sorin said, shrugging.

"What kind of video games is she into?" asked Sam.

Sorin shook his head, "Lots, if I had to guess it'll probably be a culmination. Unless she's got something else in mind."

"Shadowy looks like he's gonna be down there for a while," Sam commented and offered Sorin a candy, "Jelly Bean?"

Sorin reached for it, Teleran exploded into the front area of the chopper first, however, and attempted to get at Sorin with a blade of some kind. Sorin grabbed his wrist and smashed it against the controls of the chopper, then smashed Teleran's head against the controls of the chopper.

"Thought you were dead," Sorin said.

"You were wrong," Teleran growled.

"Allow me to correct myself," Sorin replied, and threw Teleran out the side door of the chopper, then sat back down.

Sam looked at him.

"What?" asked Sorin.

"Once in a while, you have like these total _bad-ass_ moments," Sam said, "they're really cool."

"How's Chaos doing?" asked Sorin.

Sam looked, "He's still got a few thousand."

"Nothing left as far as weapons on this thing?" asked Sorin.

Sam shook his head, "Empty."

"How big would this thing explode, do you think?" asked Sorin.

Sam smiled, "I love it when you ask metaphorical questions."

Chaos shot back and forth, casually dispatching hundreds of zombies at a time. The sound of an approaching chopper made Chaos pause for a moment and look up. The Shinra Chopper with Sam and Sorin in it was heading his way, followed by Bahamut. Sorin and Sam, however, were on Bahamut's back and not in the chopper.

"Chaos, my friend, stand back for a moment, we'll knock down your work load a bit," Sam yelled.

Sam raised his hand and the chopper shot up into the air, "How far in the air do you think it needs to be so it explodes when it hits the ground?"

Sorin shrugged, "That'll do."

Sam stopped the chopper and then let it drop; it hit the ground in the middle of the zombies. The impact itself killed a group of zombies, but the resulting huge explosion killed most of the zombies in the general area.

"PWNEd!" Sam said.

Following the chopper, Bahamut let fly a beam of energy that blew away almost every zombie in the vicinity of the destroyed chopper.

"Okay, the rest is you, man," Sam said to Chaos, "meet us back on the Shera when you're done."

Chaos made no means of reply, but simply went back to slaughtering the zombies.

Bahamut dropped the two Cetra off on the cloaked Shera, and they returned to the bridge.

"We have our direction," Sorin announced.

"'Bout damn time, gettin' tired of this waitin' around shit," Cid said jumping to his feet.

"Where did she go?" asked Tifa.

"A fringe existence, not so different from the one we were just previously at," Sorin replied, "hopefully with a little less Silent Hill."

"Yeah," Sam muttered, "that sucked."

They only had to wait for a few minutes, Chaos returned to the Shera, and Vincent entered the bridge of the ship.

"There shouldn't be any of the creatures left," he said on entering.

"Let's just hope there aren't any more of them in the next place we're going to," Tifa added.

"I assume you acquired our destination?" asked Vincent.

"I did," Sorin replied, "and unless you all have a connection to this place, I would suggest we go ahead and leave now."

"Best thing you said all day," Cid muttered and went to the controls of the ship.

"Ready when you are," Sorin said to Sam.

"Here we go people," Sam said, getting ready to jump the Shera through existences.

Vincent grabbed onto an object and held on, "I really dislike this part."

The Shera was gone.


	28. Kyra's World

**Chapter 28**

**Kyra's World**

The Shera was jolted into what that existence considered "reality," and everyone on board was thrown forward. Except for Sorin, Sam, and Wymond, of course, who didn't move at all.

"We have arrived at our destination, passengers, please stand clear of the doors," Sam said.

Vincent and the others pulled themselves to their feet.

"Sam, Sorin, take a look," Wymond said, gesturing outside.

"Well, I wasn't expecting this," Sam muttered.

Outside, they appeared to be looking at a large white castle.

"This place doesn't look like our existence at all," Tifa commented.

"We're so far on the fringe right now, Centre Time probably doesn't even reach," Sorin muttered. "Still, this is very intricate, even for a fringe existence."

"What's with the castle?" asked Cid.

"That there, is _the_ castle," Sam replied cryptically.

"There's another one," Tifa said pointing to the left, off in the distance was a similar castle, with some differences in design.

"Some might say that's also _the _castle," Sam said.

"What?" asked Vincent.

"It all depends," Wymond replied, "which kingdom do you prefer?"

Everyone looked on in confusion.

"Hyrule, or Mushroom?" asked Sam.

Sorin chuckled, "Kyra has a sense of humour today, I see."

"I have a question," Vincent said. "Who are the people with the mushrooms on their heads?"

Sam looked down at the castle; indeed, there were many people, small in stature, with mushrooms on their heads.

"Don't worry about it," Sam said.

"I have another question," Vincent said. "What's the green thing?"

Sam looked again and saw a green creature running toward the castle.

"Oh, that's Yoshi," Sam answered.

"Of course it is," Vincent muttered, "what's a Yoshi?"

"Well, uh, Yoshi is like a…Yoshi…" Sam trailed off, "what _is _Yoshi exactly?"

"He's like a lizard…sort of," Sorin stuttered, "you can ride a Yoshi like a Chocobo, they're like Chocobo…except they throw eggs."

Many blank stares were turned his way.

"You know I never realized how psychotic the entire idea of Yoshi sounded, until right now," Sam said.

"What's Hyrule and Mushroom?" asked Cid.

"Well that castle further away is Hyrule Castle, that's the one with Zelda…" Sorin stopped, "…and you have no idea who Zelda is."

They looked at him silently.

"You all might wanna sit down," Sam said, "it's time you heard the _Legend of Zelda_!"

"Legend of what?" asked Cid.

"Zelda…she's a princess…just listen, you'll get it," Wymond said.

"So there's this dude, and he was raised in a place called Kokiri Forest…" Sam went on to tell, in an all-knowing manner, the entire plot of the Zelda video games, which only Wymond, Sam, and Sorin knew anything about.

"…obviously there's switched plot ideas at some points, but basically he's this warrior dude with a funny hat and very little sense of style," Sam finished.

"If it's about Link, why is the game named after some princess?" asked Tifa.

"He's always trying to save her, I guess," Sam said shrugging.

"Why didn't they call it the Legend of Link?" asked Vincent.

"Look, it doesn't have to make complete sense," Sam muttered, "everyone's a critic!"

"Alright, now this closest castle is a reference to a video game that features two Italian brothers who are trying to save this princess named Peach," Sorin went on with the story of Mario and Luigi.

"What's the game called?" asked Vincent.

"Super Mario Bros.," Sam replied.

"Why isn't it called _Peach_?" asked Tifa.

"Because it's about the Super Mario Bros.," Sorin replied.

"Wait," Cid said, "but that last game was about Link and they named it after the princess, why isn't this one named after the princess?"

"It's about the…" Sam paused, "…good point, I have no idea."

"So the Italian brothers, Mario in red and Luigi in green…" Wymond finished the basic idea of the game.

"Alright, so who's Yoshi?" asked Vincent.

"Yoshi is the reason Mario's still alive," Sam said, "Yoshi kicks _ass_, dude."

"The story goes that Yoshi sort of had something to do with protecting Mario when he was a baby or something, I never played the game much," Wymond said.

"Then in other games Yoshi appeared, you could use him as transportation, in the N64 version he gave you like a bajillion extra lives and thanked you for playing the game," Sam said.

Vincent was going to ask what an N64 was, but decided not to.

"Alright, so the Paradoxer is using video games," Vincent said.

"Right, the only thing is, it's not easy to get even this many different types of worlds into one existence," Sorin said.

"This actually looks like something only two or three Paradoxers could manage," Sam commented.

"Kyra met up with some friends, I suppose," Wymond added.

"Sounds like safety in numbers," Vincent said.

"I agree," Sorin nodded, "she's running from something, trying to hide behind the power of other Paradoxers."

"Us?" asked Tifa.

Sorin shook his head, "Kyra wouldn't be afraid of us, it's not easy to scare a Paradoxer, whatever it is, it's bad news."

"We'll find out when we find Kyra, I'm sure, so how do we find Kyra?" asked Vincent.

Sorin shrugged, "No idea, we have to figure out how this paradox works."

"We're looking at, at least two Paradoxers, maybe more, a very complicated paradox, and possibly encountering whatever it is Kyra is hiding from," Sam said ominously.

"Usually I'd suggest we got out of this place as fast as possible, but under the circumstances we don't have that option," Sorin said, "so we need to be extremely careful, this is very dangerous water we're swimming in here."

"What should we do?" asked Tifa.

"I don't want the Paradoxers to see our hand just yet; two people should leave, find out what's what, and report back. From there we can make a decision," Sorin suggested.

"Guys, I got somethin' coming up behind us," Cid said, standing at the controls of the ship.

"Are we cloaked?" asked Sam.

Cid nodded, "It's flying a bit higher, it'll pass over, it's a ship of some kind."

After only a few moments, the vessel passed overhead. It was a white colour; it was sort of shaped like a large bird, possibly that had eaten too much. Sam, Wymond, and Sorin recognized it well enough.

"They're going all out with this one," Sam muttered.

"Great Fox," Sorin said.

"I'm getting a Smash Bros. vibe, here," Sam said.

"What game's that ship from, now?" asked Tifa.

Sam gave them an overview of the Star Fox series, while Sorin and Wymond watched the large ship fly out over the castle of Hyrule.

"Yoshi was heading the same way," Sorin said, "perhaps the answers to our questions lay wherever everyone appears to be going."

"Cid, follow that ship," Sam said.

The Shera was moving in seconds.

"I think I like the sound of this Fox guy," Cid commented.

"He's into smaller ships, generally," Sam replied.

"Wow, guess this is where the party is," Tifa said.

The Great Fox, along with some other vehicles, and some faces Sam recognized, were all stopped around a large black building, about the same size as Hyrule castle, possibly bigger.

"Look at all the video game characters, man," Sam muttered, "how many Paradoxers do you think it would take to put this kind of thing together?"

Sorin was silent for a moment, "I don't know, but we need to get someone in there to find out what the hell's going on. We might be biting off a bit more than we can chew on this one."

"You know what they say about that, Sorin," Sam replied, "to prevent biting off more than you can chew, chop the crap out of what you plan on biting first."


	29. The Castle

**Chapter 29**

**The Castle**

Vincent and Sam looked up the length of the large dark opening that led into the black castle. Sam and Vincent were chosen to go first, it was decided they'd figure out what was going on, then report back with any new developments. They didn't know what kind of trouble they might be getting into exactly, so Sam and Vincent were the safest two people to send. Sam, out of all the Cetra, had the most knowledge of other-existence video games, and Vincent couldn't be killed.

"Wonder if they realize the place doesn't look very accommodating," muttered Sam.

"I would assume that was the purpose," Vincent replied.

"Alright, you have any questions go ahead and ask, I should know just about everyone who's gonna be in there," Sam informed.

The two walked through the dark entrance, and suddenly found themselves in a long and wide, dull coloured hallway. The carpet beneath them was a dark red, and a somewhat stereotypical line of Medieval Knight armour ran down the hall on their left. The place had a few windows, which allowed for light, and there wasn't any sign of artificial lighting in the place.

Vincent and Sam went down the hall and entered through another large doorway. The noise of the room wasn't overbearing, but a lot louder compared to that of the silent hallway. It was a large room, something like a banquet hall, which held what appeared to be the owners of the vehicles outside, including some that must have walked.

"Jesus on ice skates," Sam mumbled, "it's video game geek-heaven in here."

Indeed, just about every conceivable character that appeared in a video game was present.

"And these are all characters from video games?" asked Vincent.

Sam nodded, "My God, look at them all. There's too many."

"Too many?" asked Vincent.

Sam took one look around the room and quickly put a hand to his right ear, "Sorin, you hear me up there?"

"_What's it look like, Sam?_" asked Sorin from the Shera, through the earpiece in Sam's ear.

"We got problems," Sam replied, "the sheer density of people in here alone, not counting the things outside…I'd have to say there's at least…six or seven Paradoxers at work here."

"_Damn_," Sorin said, "_that's not good for us at all_."

"Sorin," Vincent cut in, hand over his own right ear, "the fact these Paradoxers are hiding behind so much power must mean whatever it is they are hiding from is close."

"_I agree, which means even more possible problems,_" Sorin added, "_Sam, it's your call, do you know anything more than what you've told me_?"

"Nothing yet, when I know, you'll know," Sam said, and cut the transmission.

"On a scale of one to ten," Vincent said, "how bad is this?"

"You use a scale of one to ten?" asked Sam.

"It's usually a good way to describe a situation, ten being suicide," Vincent replied.

"At this point," Sam muttered, "thirteen."

Vincent nodded, "As I suspected."

"Welcome!" yelled a voice, suddenly, from a person standing atop a large decorated stage. "We apologize for the delay; I know most of you have traveled a very long way for this."

"Who's that?" asked Vincent.

Sam looked at the man on stage and squinted, "That looks like Cora, no surprise he's here, he's a big time Paradoxer."

The Paradoxer on stage went on about a prestigious tournament, but Sam stopped listening, as soon as he saw Cora he knew exactly what was going on.

"Battle royale," Sam muttered.

Vincent looked at him curiously.

"Cora there is a big Smash Bros. fan, he's sure taking it to the next level though," Sam explained.

"And of course," the Paradoxer went on, "to the one of you who will be victorious in this tournament, will have the chance to fight one of my own men…should you succeed there—"

"What's that Cora?" yelled Sam walking into the middle of the banquet hall with Vincent, "no Master Hand? I thought you always fought the big flying white hand at the end; it's why I played those games! Well…that and I always enjoyed killing Pikachu."

"_Pii-kaa_!" came a yell from a table a few meters away.

"Oh, look, there he is now," Sam said smiling and waving to the yellow Pokemon, "Charmander's better!"

"Samael," Cora said smiling, "I'm almost not surprised you showed up."

"I never miss a party," Sam replied, "especially when you've got this many people invited!"

"You like my collection, I see," Cora commented.

"Well, now, we both know it's not just your collection, even you couldn't pull all this together on your own," Sam said.

"What exactly do you want from us Paradoxers this time, Samael?" asked Cora.

"I'm just looking for Kyra, you let me talk to her, maybe I leave you alone," Sam offered.

"You should join our little tournament, Sam, if you win, you can fight any Paradoxer you like," Cora said.

"I don't wanna fight Kyra, I just wanna ask some questions," Sam replied, "then you can go on with your little fight here if you want."

"If you aren't here to join my tournament, Samael, then I suggest you leave," Cora said, two dark clothed men, each with some kind of rifle, stepped on to the stage and aimed weapons. "Kill him."

The rifles were automatic, so one pull of the trigger sent an entire wave of bullets at Sam. Vincent moved to block the attack but someone beat him to it.

A single red beam shot past Sam and melted the metal projectiles as it passed, then blew a small hole in the wall behind Cora.

"I'm not sure what you two are fighting about, but if this thing is gonna be some kind of sibling rivalry, I'm leaving," growled the owner of the weapon that fired the laser.

"Of course, you are correct, Mr. McCloud," Cora said smiling.

"I know, I didn't need you to tell me that," Fox McCloud said walking forward, holstering his gun, "but if this entire thing isn't gonna have some sort of organization then my team and I are gone. If I have to worry about your cronies shooting me in the back while I'm not looking your little fight isn't worth it."

"_Pi-kachuu_!" agreed Pikachu.

"Yeah," Sam nodded pointing at the Pokemon, "what he said."

"My apologies," Cora said, waving his dark-clad henchmen away.

The main character of the Star Fox games gave Sam and Vincent a curious glance, and then returned to where he was sitting.

"Alright, Cora, you got it, sign me up," Sam said.

"Very well, Samael," Cora said, "then allow me to explain the rules of the tournament."

After Cora finished with the guidelines of the tournament everyone was told to return the next day for their first match-up.

"So we're allowed to have at least five other people as team members," Sam said, "which means if one of the team members win, then any one person of that team is allowed to be chosen to fight a Paradoxer."

"We only have Sorin, Tifa, Cid, and Wymond, short one," Vincent said.

Sam shrugged, "Not everyone's fighting with a full seven team members, I know Fox's team is only four total. Not that he really needs the backup, considering…well, three if you're under the belief that Slippy doesn't really do anything other than tell Fox to _do a barrel roll_!"

Vincent looked at Sam silently.

"You gotta play the game to get it," Sam muttered.

"Can Tifa and Cid stand up to these opponents?" asked Vincent.

Sam shrugged, "They're from another existence, but I figure they can handle it anyways."

"You're an expert on the strengths and weaknesses of these fighters, correct?" asked Vincent.

Sam nodded, "Gives us an advantage, possibly a small one, but an advantage is an advantage in any size."

The two returned to the Shera and filled everyone in.

"Basically we have to do this whole fight thing, and at least one of us have to win to get to Kyra," Sam explained.

"This makes our job a little easier at least," Sorin said, "though no less complicated."

"We still have to fight our way through a crap load of video game characters," Sam said, "but it's better than fighting a bunch of Paradoxers head on."

"'Bout time we got some action," Cid growled, "when do we start this thing, gotta go shine the spear up."

"Tomorrow," Sam said, "until then we wait."

Cid left the Shera to hover, and ran to grab his spear. It had been a while since he'd had a chance to pull it out.

"I'm gonna go practice," Tifa said.

"Practice what?" asked Sam. "It's pretty clear you can beat the crap out of people, you're not actually going to improve any more than you already are capable of."

Tifa shrugged, "Gotta do something, right?"

Tifa left the bridge.

"It's been a considerably long time since I've had to fight like this," Sorin said, "I might be getting too old for this kind of thing."

"Dude, you don't age, you're dead," Sam retorted.

"Figure of speech," Sorin replied.

"If I get to fight Link, I'm stealing his boomerang," Wymond said laughing.

"Oh, man, I want Mario's hat," Sam added.

Suddenly there was a beeping sound, it was coming from the control console of the Shera, it was the noise the ship made when another object was in proximity.

The three Cetra and Vincent looked up and saw a sleek blue and white ship hovering a few feet from the front of the Shera.

"Is that an Arwing?" asked Wymond.

"Yes it is," Sam said, "Fox's Arwing, he can't see us, so what's he doing?"

"I don't know," Sorin muttered, "but I do think he sees us."

Sam went to the controls and uncloaked the Shera, the Arwing didn't appear to be startled by the appearance of the ship at all. Fox had known they were there. Sam opened one of the docking bays and Fox docked the Arwing.

"Weird," Sam muttered, then went with Sorin, Vincent, and Wymond to meet him.

They entered the docking bay, and found Fox just jumping down from his Arwing. Sam hadn't noticed before, but the video game character appeared taller than he would have expected him to be in person. The fox-like features that made the guy what he is were far darker, and somewhat weather-beaten than the games would show. He looked a little less glamorous than Sam remembered him being. It was still clearly Fox, however.

"I'm guessing that fancy ship of yours can pick up cloaked vessels?" asked Sam.

"Among other things," Fox replied, his gun was very obvious, holstered on his right hip. Vincent kept at the ready to grab Cerberus at any second.

"What can we do for you?" asked Sorin.

"My name is Fox McCloud, I believe we met briefly in the banquet hall," Fox said nodding to Sam.

"We did," Sam said, then introduced everyone around him to Fox.

"I usually wouldn't intrude, but I was intrigued by your quarrel with the host of this tournament," Fox explained, "I was suspicious of the man when I entered the fight, but I wanted to hear it from someone who looks like he might know something, whether I should be genuinely worried about him. As you seem to know him quite well, you seemed the person to ask."

Sam shrugged, "He's a bad dude, but I wouldn't worry about him, if anything he'll probably be finding a way to stab me in the back before he worries about cheating anyone else."

Fox nodded, "I assumed that would be the case, by the way you two got along."

"We've never been very good friends, no," Sam said.

"Well, I realize in this sense we're opponents, so I won't keep you, I was just trying to stay on top of things," Fox said.

"Good luck," Sorin said.

"And to you," Fox replied, and turned back to his Arwing.

Suddenly, someone dropped down from a catwalk above and landed in a crouch to Fox's right. The thing was in dark clothing and appeared to have two small blades of some kind.

"What the hell?" muttered Sam.

Fox noticed the odd occurrence and stopped, looking at the newcomer curiously.

"A member of your ship crew?" asked Fox, looking over his shoulder.

The dark-clad man stood up, he was about Fox's height, and held two daggers. The man looked familiar to Sam, not in facial features, he didn't recognize the man himself, but just the way his clothing looked…somehow familiar.

"No," Sam replied.

Fox looked back curiously, then at the intruder, "Identify yourself!"

The dark-clad man said nothing, and after a moment quickly charged at Fox. The blades in his hands sliced like rotors on a helicopter, too fast for even Sam to follow with his eyes.

Fox grabbed the left wrist of the attacker and quickly kneed him in the stomach, all the while ducking under the right-hand blade. As the attacker was doubled-over, Fox kicked his feet out from under him from the front and the dark-clad man fell heavily on his face. Fox grabbed both of the knives from his grasp and tossed them away.

"It would have served you better not to have invaded an enemy vessel alone," Fox informed. "Lesson learned."

Sam smiled and looked at Sorin, "I used to like Falco, but Fox is my new favourite now."

Fox grabbed the intruder by the back of the collar and dragged him across the ground on his face to Sam's feet.

"Your ship, punishment is at your discretion," Fox said, stepping back.

Sorin knelt down, "Who are you?"

The man looked up, blood covered his face, and Sorin guessed his nose was broken, too.

"A messenger," the man replied.

"What message do you carry, messenger?" asked Sorin.

"Shar sends his regards," the man said, smiling grimly through the blood.

Sorin looked up at Sam, and Sam recognized why the man looked familiar, he was in hunter clothing, "A hunter."

Sorin nodded and looked back down, "Where is Shar?"

"You won't have to find him, don't worry, he's coming here," the messenger said smiling still, "not too long now, the Paradoxers can't hide behind their video games for long."

The messenger then seemed to suddenly melt into the floor and disappeared, Sorin hopped back in surprise.

"What the hell?" muttered Sam.

"I'm guessing that wasn't good news?" asked Fox.

Sam looked at Fox, "You have no idea."


	30. CrossOver Craziness

--Well, if you thought the existence-twisting couldn't get any crazier…then you don't understand how much crazier this story can get, and it will, anyways, I offer yet again to answer any questions you may need to ask for clarification in reviews, otherwise they'll be answered in the story, I make it more confusing and intricate to offer a more interesting story line when it all boils down to it, so if you have trouble understanding something you might miss the point, don't be afraid to ask if you need to.

--And now, a disclaimer just so all this appears official: I don't own any of the many well-known video game characters that will appear henceforth, but you knew that already.

**Chapter 30**

**Cross-Over Craziness**

Sam, Vincent, Tifa, Cid, Wymond, and Sorin all stood outside the dark castle where they were to be instructed on how the tournament should begin. Fox McCloud quickly picked them out of the crowd and headed toward them.

"Before you say anything," Fox said waving a hand, "I feel I owe you something."

Sam looked at him curiously, "Owe us something?"

"Something of an explanation," Fox clarified, "the news of this Shar character has brought light to some…things. It would be easier if we talked in private, so I can explain."

"Alright," Sam agreed. The group followed Fox around the castle to where the large ship Great Fox was docked, along with some other vehicles.

They stopped as Fox turned to look at them, "Occurring events have given me some…let's say: _insight_, into exactly who you are, and that's why I feel we should trust you with this information."

"If not for the fact you might know more than we do," added a voice, the owner appeared around from the other side of the Great Fox. It was a familiar figure; the red hat with the defined _M_ on the front gave it away most of all.

"Mario," Sam said grinning.

"You know me?" asked Mario curiously.

"That's not surprising," Fox said.

"I have to say," Sam commented, "I'm surprised you talk the way you do."

"What were you expecting?" asked Mario.

"You know," Wymond put in, "_it's-a mee, a-Mario! Helloo!_"

Mario looked at Wymond strangely, "I'm Italian you idiot, not retarded."

Sam laughed and had to grab on to Sorin's shoulder to keep from falling backward, "Dude, that was an awesome comeback. I used to like Luigi more, but I'm totally back to Mario."

"I'm more curious as to the fact that you're _not_ the stereotypical Mario," Sorin said.

Sam finally stopped laughing and nodded, "Yeah, not at all how Cora would have modeled you."

Fox nodded, "Then you understand."

Sam smiled, "I have this talent, you see, I talk as if I know what I'm talking about, so much so that even you believe it. In reality, however, I have no idea what the words I'm saying actually mean."

"Trust me," Tifa retorted, "we've noticed the skill."

Sam looked at her over his shoulder, "Thank you dear, your input was entirely unnecessary, but enlightening."

"Why don't you clarify your point, Fox," Sorin said, "as a whole, our deductive reason tends to get side-tracked."

"I wonder why," Vincent muttered looking at Sam.

"_Yes_, okay, thank you for the moral support people, my self-esteem is sky-rocketing!" Sam said sarcastically.

"We're not creations of your Paradoxer," Fox said bluntly.

Sorin was the only one who didn't seem surprised by this.

"Holy crap," Sam muttered.

Wymond looked at Sorin, "Is that possible?"

Sorin nodded slowly, "Unlikely, but very possible."

"What does this mean, exactly?" asked Vincent.

Sam turned around, "You know how we thought time and space was fucked up before?"

Everyone nodded.

"Well, know it's been triple-fucked and thrown off a cliff," Sam said deadpan.

"Ah," Vincent said, "wonderful."

"We realized these Paradoxers were creating a world where people like myself were fictional characters," Fox said, "obviously the implications of an existing being in a world where such beings don't exist in reality can be…bad."

"And Mario is the same?" asked Sorin.

"Once we got past the idea that Fox and I are, apparently, fictional creations in different worlds, it all became very simple," Mario said.

"We found others like ourselves, and decided the best move would be to pretend to be our fictional selves for the entertainment of the Paradoxer," Fox explained.

"So you're saying," Vincent said, trying to clear the concept up in his mind, "that if we kill this Paradoxer, video game characters like yourselves won't disappear because you're _actual people_, and not video game characters?"

"Where we come from, my friend," Mario replied, "we obviously aren't video game characters."

"That makes sense," Sam said, "in your existence you couldn't be fictional because you exist. My question is what kind of twisted mess has to exist to make this kind of existence cross-over?"

Sorin shook his head, "A paradox, and a kind greater and more deadly than has ever existed."

"Is this Shar's doing?" asked Wymond.

"I'm not sure," Sorin said, "if it is, then we know where we stand, if it isn't, we may have a much larger problem than just Shar and the Bane."

"The shit just keeps piling on!" Cid growled. "The whole damn universe is startin' to dig itself into a hole, if this gets any worse how the hell are we gonna dig ourselves the hell out?"

"We were hoping we might be able to find a solution," Fox said, "it seems you don't know the answer, and we don't. Together, we may find what we're looking for."

"It's not just you two?" asked Sam.

Fox shook his head, "My team is as real as I am, and Mario brought along some allies."

"Dude, did you bring Yoshi?" asked Sam.

Mario nodded.

"_Kick-ass_," Sam said laughing.

"He's a big fan of Yoshi," Sorin said.

"No shit," Cid muttered.

"We also have one more friend who was able to get his head around our situation," Fox said, "he's talented in the ways of staying out of sight so he won't be joining us today. We found him in something of a very different world, a model of the one where people play games with our fictional selves inside."

"Someone from a normal human existence?" asked Sorin.

"A what?" asked Tifa.

Sam looked at her, "It's really complicated, the basic idea of what we refer to as a _normal _human existence, is basically the world where all the ideas for the fictional characters came from, in a sense they're like myself, because they know about people like Mario and Fox as fictional video game characters, like I do. It's a complete difference from your world, or any these people know, they call it Earth…it's more of a planet than just a location…"

Sorin waved Sam off, "Don't go too far with complete outside existences, Samael, it's not possible for them to comprehend."

"We understand the basic idea," Fox said. "In any case, we have him playing a created fictional character just like the rest of us, and collecting as much information as he possibly can."

"We probably know him, who is it?" asked Sam.

"Fellow named Snake," Fox replied, "not sure if that's his real name, but apparently I'm named after an animal, too, so I'm not questioning anything."

Sam smiled, "Snake."

"Who's that?" asked Tifa.

"Oh, dude, this stuff is getting _crazy_," Sam said.

"This is a very serious paradox we're dealing with," Sorin said, "it's incredible you all didn't go insane."

Fox shrugged, "It's possible us fictional people are a bit more resilient than suspected. I have only one question."

"What the hell ask away, anything we tell you can't screw things up more than they've already been," Sam said.

"What fictional world are you all from, exactly?" Fox asked.

Sam looked at everyone around him warily, "Uh, well, some of us are from what people in the normal world would call Final Fantasy VII. Wymond, Sorin, and I are sort of like…free agents in time and space."

"I'm not sure what all that means," Fox said, "but I've come to accept not understanding most of what I encounter."

"So what exactly is our next move?" asked Vincent, doing the same as the others and disregarding the information that they were video game characters in a fictional world, because trying to understand the concept would be impossible.

"You believe this Shar is our enemy, correct?" asked Mario.

"If he isn't the source of our problems, then no, but he's the only target we have that makes sense," Sorin replied.

"Alright, then we play the Paradoxer's game for now," Fox said, "you three _free agents_ seem to know enough, and I trust you, we'll make a move when you say to."

Mario nodded.

"We may need the help," Sorin said nodding back.

"I'll find Snake," Sam said, "I know exactly what he can do."

Fox nodded, "Very well, when I get in contact with him I'll let him know of this new development. Until then, we should go our separate ways."

"One thing," Sam said quickly, "how do you know some of this stuff, you know, about Paradoxers, that kind of thing?"

Fox smiled a little, "We had some help. From something of another _free agent_, as you put it."

"A woman in pink," Mario added, "I would assume you know her, yes?"

Vincent chuckled and shook his head, "I believe we may have met once or twice."

Sam turned to walk away, "In one existence or another."


	31. Backstage

--just before I begin, I'd like to mention that _Solid Snake rulez!! W00t!..._yeah…anyways.

**Chapter 31**

**Backstage**

Cid slid across the roof of Hyrule castle; he managed to use his spear in time to stop his momentum just before he slid right over the edge and toward the ground. Cid shook his head and stood up.

"Come on, Cid!" yelled Sam, watching from the ground, "you're getting your ass kicked by someone named Jigglypuff!"

"_Jiggly-puff!_" yelled the Pokemon at Sam.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sam retorted.

"You can understand what it's saying?" asked Tifa.

Sam nodded, "It's saying Jigglypuff."

"But it's not actually communicating?" asked Tifa.

"Well, I'm sure it thinks it knows what it's trying to say," Sam said shrugging.

"Jigglypuff this, you rounded piece a—" Cid yelled.

"_Puff_!" yelled the Pokemon as it threw a punch that sent Cid shooting straight up into the air.

"That's almost sad," Sam muttered.

"It's obviously more powerful than it looks," Tifa commented.

Cid hit the roof of the castle a few feet away, on the bright side he _was_ now further away from the edge of the roof.

"Up and B, Cid! Up and B!" yelled Sam. "Hit up and B!"

Tifa looked at Sam strangely.

"Oh, shit, right, not N64," Sam growled, "jump in the air and smash it with your spear!"

Cid did so and caught the Pokemon off guard, sending the deceivingly cute-looking creature right off the edge of the roof and crashing to the ground heavily.

"Yahtzee!" Sam yelled.

Cid staggered, using the spear for support, "Is it dead?"

Suddenly Cid disappeared and reappeared beside Sam.

"What the fuck was that?" asked Cid, looking around in a daze.

"It's called teleportation," Sam replied.

"Well, don't let them do it again," Cid muttered, sitting down on the ground.

"Nicely fought," Sorin said patting Cid on the shoulder.

"You fought with grace," Wymond added.

"Considering you were getting whipped by a walking, talking, cream puff, yeah," Sam murmured.

Tifa slapped Sam on the shoulder.

"What's the next match up?" asked Sorin.

Sam pointed to the left, "Ness and Samus on the Great Fox."

"Did you know Samus was a chick?" asked Sorin.

"Yeah, of course," Sam replied.

"You know I just found that out a little while ago, I had no idea," Sorin said.

"Where have you been?" Wymond laughed.

"Well, there's also Link and Captain Falcon in Saffron City," Sam said.

"Is that the roof top stage with the helipad and the door where Pokemon pop out?" asked Wymond.

"That's the one," Sam said nodding.

"Cool," Wymond said, heading for that battle, "go Link!"

"This would almost be completely enjoyable if the impending doom of all known existences wasn't, yet again, present and weighing on my mind," Sorin said.

Tifa smiled and grabbed Sorin's arm, "Cheer up, let's go watch the badly dressed guy with the sword fight, on the way you can tell me who Captain Falcon is."

Sorin went with Tifa, all the while explaining about the annoying characteristics of Captain Falcon, such as the fact he feels he needs to yell out _Falcon Punch_ and _Falcon Kick _every time he decides to use those attacks, even though by now we're all quite aware of the names of the attacks.

Sam looked around, and then down at Cid, "Well, guess I'm stuck with you."

Cid muttered something under his breath and went with Sam to watch the fight between Ness and Samus, "Where's Vince?"

Sam shrugged, "Off doing his dark and lonely thing, I guess."

"When does he have a fight coming up?" asked Cid.

"He's up against Kirby right after the Link and Captain Falcon fight," Sam replied. "Fox is up against Pikachu right after that as well."

"One of us should be keeping an eye on him, shouldn't we, if this Paradoxer finds out about Fox and the rest they'll be in some deep trouble," Cid said.

Sam nodded, "They can take care of themselves, but I'm gonna catch up with Fox afterward anyways, I need to talk to him. The fight between Shadowy and Kirby should be uneventful."

"Guess you might as well explain who these people are," Cid said.

Sam began to tell Cid about Ness and Samus.

§§

Vincent took a look around and headed quietly into the open doors of the large black castle. He assumed this would be the best time to take a look around, as the Paradoxers would likely be occupied with their little fantasy battles outside.

He found the hall quiet, and entered into the large banquet hall. It also was deserted; Vincent walked through to the stage and climbed up. Backstage would be his first place to look. He went behind the curtains cautiously and looked around. The area was a mess of items one would generally expect to see when trying to run a show on stage: lights, different kinds of props, most particularly unnecessary. All probably in an attempt to make it look like your stereotypical backstage area, Vincent walked further in to take a closer look. In all likelihood there was more to the place than just abandoned props and equipment.

Apparently, someone had the same state of mind as Vincent and decided to snoop around because a door creaked open slowly just in front of him. Vincent didn't have enough time to get out of sight; a person exited the doorway and looked directly at him. Whoever the man was, he appeared surprised at Vincent's appearance, obviously a person who also was not supposed to be in the area.

They both came to the same conclusion as to what to do, and drew weapons. They both drew pistols and aimed at each other; Vincent didn't have any qualms about being shot so a stand-off put him at an advantage. However, the other man didn't appear to be interested in any such stand-off and was rolling away seconds after drawing his weapon. Vincent turned to aim his weapon and found it knocked out of his hands due to a swift kick from the figure on the ground. Vincent didn't bother trying to recover Cerberus, and instead he grabbed the figure and threw him into a wall. The man growled and fell to the ground, losing his grip on the gun.

Vincent's next attempt was to bring his golden claws down at the man, but he rolled away in time. So fast, in fact, that Vincent didn't have time to stop his attack, which left the claw stuck in the ground momentarily. By the time Vincent freed himself, the unknown figure had disappeared behind the curtain.

Vincent retrieved Cerberus and shot out on to the stage. The unknown figure couldn't have known exactly what Vincent was, so he underestimated his speed. Vincent was suddenly right behind the unknown figure, Cerberus aimed at his head.

"I wouldn't move," Vincent said.

The man jumped a little in surprise, and then did as Vincent suggested.

"Who are you?" demanded Vincent.

The mysterious man didn't respond, in the better lighting of the banquet hall Vincent could make out more of the person he had run into. From behind all he could make out were the grey outfit the man wore and the long brown hair that stopped around the collar, along with that, a similarly coloured bandanna, the ends of which were tied at the back and fell a little longer than the man's hair.

"Who are you?" asked Vincent again.

The man spun around, too fast for even Vincent to register, and grabbed Vincent's wrists, then within seconds threw him to the ground. The attack wouldn't have seemed so effortless if Vincent hadn't underestimated his enemy, he didn't think the person who stood in front of him was anything other than another creation of the Paradoxers.

"Someone," replied the man in a gruff voice, aiming Cerberus at Vincent, "who's in a hurry."

Vincent snapped to his feet and moved at the man, Vincent was impressed by his speed, the man had enough time to fire off a shot from the gun and hit Vincent in the chest before he was thrown backward. Cerberus was back in his hand again, and he walked over to the nameless figure who had just shot him.

"Now, who are you?" asked Vincent again, calmly looking down at the man on the ground.

"His name is Snake," someone said, the voice making Vincent spin and aim Cerberus behind him. "And if you make any more noise while trying to find out you'll have the whole world walking around in here."

Snake stood up and aimed another gun at Vincent, obviously a back up, as his original weapon was still lying backstage, "You know this guy?"

The third person into the banquet hall was Fox; Vincent holstered Cerberus as soon as he recognized him.

"He's one of the people I was telling you about," Fox said, walking forward, "he's an ally."

Vincent turned to look at the man apparently named Snake. Snake holstered his backup weapon and the two shared an awkward silent moment.

"Nice cape," Snake said after a few seconds.

"Actually, I think that's a _cloak_ technically, but I'm not entirely sure," Fox said nodding at Vincent's attire.

"It seems as if we happened to be sneaking around in the same area, my apologies, had I known…" Vincent stopped when Snake waved a dismissive hand.

"Yeah, what the hell, damn awkward way to get acquainted, at least we didn't kill each other," Snake said.

"Come on, if we're seen here we'll be in some serious trouble," Fox said gesturing to the exit, "when we're outside I'll go ahead and explain why Snake was looking around, did you find anything?"

Snake shook his head, "If there's anything worth finding it sure as hell isn't anywhere in here."

"That would be far too easy, of course," Fox muttered, "well, let's get outta here before someone notices."

Snake retrieved his gun from backstage, and then the three exited warily, making sure there were no people watching. They headed quickly toward the fight between Samus and Ness afterward.

"I was hoping Snake here might be able to find some more information on this Shar character of yours. I understand the Paradoxers are aware of this person, and I thought they might know something we don't," Fox explained.

"They're obviously a little more careful with that information," Snake said, holstering one of his pistols, "if the information exists at all."

"As you can see we're walking in the dark," Fox said, "no idea where to even start."

"We're the same at this point," Vincent said, "my intent was to discover something helpful as well. It appears I would have been unsuccessful in either case."

"Yeah, well, if there's something to find, then I'll find it," Snake growled, "it would just be better if we knew where the hell to look in the first place."

"Vincent, meet with your friends, tell them we should all meet by the Great Fox after my battle with Pikachu," Fox said.

Vincent nodded.

"Time to put our heads together, hopefully we can come up with something useful," Fox said.

"Dude, I have one question and one question only," Sam said walking up behind them all, they turned and saw him pointing at Snake, "in your opinion which Metal Gear Solid game was the best?"

Snake looked at Fox.

Fox smiled, "This is Sam, another member of the group I was telling you about."

Snake looked back at Sam, "What the hell is a Metal Gear Solid?"

Cid shook his head and closed his eyes, Sam looked almost disappointed.

"It'll always be Metal Gear Solid number one in my heart, preferably the GameCube Twin Snakes remake because I prefer Metal Gear Solid two game-play," Sam said.

"Does anyone have any idea what he's talking about?" asked Snake.

"No," Vincent replied, "and I never do."


	32. Fatalistic

**Chapter 32**

**Fatalistic**

Vincent looked across the battle arena at his enemy. This type of tournament fighting, considered as entertainment, did not amuse Vincent in any way, and he would have had no part in it. However, walking away from the battle disqualified the entire team, and leaving this existence wasn't an option right now.

In the end, Vincent accepted that he was required to fight the little pink ball that was apparently named Kirby.

The arena was Dream Land, which by Sam's explanation was a location from both a game called Super Smash Bros., and from the game Kirby originated from. It consisted of three wooden platforms floating oddly in the air, and a large tree in the middle that was supposed to somehow blow wind in random directions. He was also aware of the fact that Kirby was able to steal abilities from enemies by eating them…and at this point, Vincent was prepared to believe anything, nor was he surprised by any means.

The battle began, and Kirby appeared more than ready to make the first move. The small creature ran quickly, straight toward him.

And Vincent stepped aside, kicking Kirby from behind and sending him flying off the arena.

"Well, that wasn't complicated at all," Vincent muttered.

He turned from the edge of the arena and started walking away. He didn't see Kirby come floating back up, flapping his small arms wildly until he managed to grab the ledge and pull himself back up.

Vincent turned and saw Kirby.

Kirby jumped up and down, waving his pink limbs above his head yelling in a high-pitched voice, "_Hiiiiiiii_!!!"

"Hello," Vincent muttered.

Kirby took a second and then started his charge again. This time he popped into the air and threw what appeared to be a kick…or possibly a punch…some kind of attack…that sent Vincent flying head over heels and into the ground, but he rolled quickly back to his feet.

Kirby was right in front of him, but wasn't attacking. Vincent began to make his move when Kirby took a deep breath inward and Vincent was sucked forward.

Vincent could only see darkness, he felt no indication of being anywhere but where he had been before, except for the fact everything around him was black.

Then he was suddenly thrown forward and back into the arena, sliding face-first along the ground. As he got to his feet, he noticed Kirby's appearance was now different.

Kirby sported a miniature replica of Vincent's crimson attire, along with a small copy of Cerberus in hand.

Vincent looked at the imitation of himself on the small creature with his head to the side curiously, "That's an odd skill."

Kirby didn't, or couldn't, respond, he just seemed to dance happily where he stood for a few moments.

They both charged at each other simultaneously, meeting with a kick and a punch on each other, both combatants flying backward and landing on their feet. Kirby responded quickly with a number of shots from the wannabe Cerberus, which Vincent quickly evaded by rolling to the right. He popped to his feet gracefully and returned fire from the real Cerberus. Kirby wasn't nearly as fast as Vincent's bullets; each shot blasted into the small creature and sent it staggering backward until Cerberus' ammunition ran out.

As Vincent reloaded Kirby got his little hands on an item capsule and broke it open. Vincent looked up in time to see the small creature coming at him with a very fast, and apparently hard to control, large black hammer.

Vincent jumped into a back flip and avoided the large hammer narrowly by jumping up on one of the lower wooden platforms. Kirby turned awkwardly and came back, attempting to jump up and hit Vincent, but Vincent had already jumped up to the third and highest platform. The hammer slammed down into the spot where Vincent was standing seconds after Vincent had hopped off and hit the ground, landing beside an odd rounded object.

"Vincent!" yelled Sorin. "Vincent, that's a PokeBall! Throw it!"

Vincent looked off the arena toward where Sorin and many others were watching. He grabbed the spherical object quickly and tossed it at Kirby. The hammer smashed the item, but it was apparently too strong in itself to be hurt by the hammer. The ball broke open like an egg and a jet of blue light shot outward from it. A small figure jumped out from the PokeBall and landed a few feet away.

Both Kirby and Vincent waited to see what had jumped from the item.

A small red coloured fish flopped uselessly on the ground.

Kirby and Vincent looked at each other momentarily, than back at the useless Pokemon.

"That's Goldeen, it does nothing!" yelled Sorin.

"Clearly," Vincent muttered.

Kirby nodded his agreement.

Then the two resumed their battle, leaving the useless creature to flop on the ground until it disappeared. Kirby jumped left and right, throwing random attacks and keeping Vincent moving to avoid him. Vincent ducked a swipe and grabbed Kirby, tossing him upward and into the bottom of the platform above. He collided hard with the platform, and then smashed equally as deadly into the ground.

Vincent used the moment he had to turn and grab a large wooden crate which held an item inside. He smashed the box and found what appeared to be a red turtle shell. Vincent picked it up carefully and looked at it, unsure as to how to use the Koopa Shell, Vincent simply threw it at Kirby, smashing him in the face. The red shell fell to the ground, and to Vincent's shock started moving on its own. It shot back and forth as if powered by an engine across the arena, forcing both fighters to jump up on platforms to avoid the maniacal shell.

Vincent saw Kirby on the platform across and jumped at him, Kirby attempted to block an attack, but Vincent was faster and knocked him off, right into the roaming red shell.

Kirby was sent flying through the air and off the arena, out into open air. Kirby managed to flap his arms enough to float his way back to the arena, he was about to set down on land again when Cerberus opened up and blew Kirby back into open air. Vincent emptied the ammo in Cerberus, and consequently sent Kirby too far from the arena to float back; he fell to the ground, defeated.

"Well played," commented Sorin as Vincent returned in front of Sorin and Tifa.

Wymond appeared from the crowd to the left, "Hey, guess you won, how'd it go?"

Vincent looked back dismissively at the arena he had just fought at, "Uneventful."

"The battle between Fox and Pikachu just started up, Sam's over there watching it with Cid," Wymond said.

"After that battle we need to meet up with our new allies," Sorin said.

"Who fights after Fox?" asked Tifa.

"Donkey Kong and Samus," Sorin said, "the next fight any of us have to think about would be directly after that, Tifa would fight the winner of the Link and Captain Falcon battle, which we watched."

"Me and Link," Tifa said.

"Watching that battle may have given you an advantage, if you start to notice any patterns of attack you saw during the Captain Falcon fight, use it against him," Sorin said.

"When does Sam fight?" asked Tifa.

"He starts up on the next round of battles; he's got the first team match," Wymond said, "him and Luigi against Samus and Fox."

"He has to fight Fox?" asked Tifa.

Sorin shrugged, "It's only the second round, winning or losing only counts for points, he won't be knocking him out if Sam wins or anything like that."

"I'm up against Yoshi before the second round even starts anyways," Wymond said.

"We're just holding up the charade for now, we're on the same side no matter who fights who," Sorin said.

"You're up against Mario, Sorin," Wymond said.

Sorin nodded, "The only person in our team who isn't fighting the first round is Sam, and he's kicking off the second round in the team battles. Two on two, and variations of such, with randomly chosen teams and enemies, and as far as I can tell there's one randomly chosen battle of three on one."

"Three against one," Vincent said, "those aren't good odds for the average combatant."

Sorin shook his head, "Odds are severely against the lone fighter, but I imagine people would love the upset should that single person win."

"Let's go catch the Fox/Pikachu fight," Tifa said.

"They're fighting back at Peach's Castle, where Cid and Jigglypuff went at it," Wymond said.

They headed that way.

§§

Fox ducked under a blue blast of electricity seconds before having to jump to the side to dodge a strike from the yellow Pokemon. The creature had been giving Fox a run for his money, not so much because of his strength, but Pikachu's speed in itself was a marvel. He would be in one place, and then in a flash he was standing right in front of Fox. All Fox needed, however, was a few moments to learn to anticipate where Pikachu would end up, instead of trying to follow him from the point where he moved from.

Pikachu popped out of nowhere and smashed Fox with an uppercut that sent him sailing head over heels. He managed to right himself in the air and draw his blaster, he fired and hit the Pokemon square in the face, sending him flying backward and rolling along the rooftop. Fox holstered the blaster seconds before landing back on his feet.

"_Pi-kaa_!" yelled the Pokemon, sending a blue line of electricity at Fox.

He raised his arms and a blue field seemed to appear around him, the electric shock hit the blue reflector and it shot right back at Pikachu. The reflected attack was dodged and Pikachu attempted the same attack again, this time the reflected attack hit Pikachu and sent him flying further backward.

Fox charged forward and jumped through the air, hitting the Pokemon with a devastating kick that sent him flying right off the roof of the castle.

Pikachu used his quick moving abilities to get back on the roof, but while the Pokemon was distracted with returning, Fox had quickly found and used an item which dropped on the arena.

Fox crossed his arms and nodded at Pikachu, gesturing for the Pokemon to attack. The taunt worked and the yellow creature charged at Fox, about three seconds into the charge Pikachu stepped on a grey Motion Sensor Bomb Fox had set and the resulting explosion sent Pikachu soaring up into the sky and much too far away to ever get back on the roof.

A faint, "_piiii-kaaaaa_" could be heard in the distance just before Fox was teleported away from the arena.

"I'd say you blew him away," Sam commented.

Fox looked at Sam, "He was quick."

"Well, sometimes you only need to be smart," Sam replied.

Fox nodded, "Where are your other friends."

As if on cue they appeared.

"The others can't be present, and I have Snake doing something for me right now, I'll pass on any news to them when I can," Fox said, "what exactly should we be doing about this Shar?"

"I've been thinking about that," Sorin replied, "as far as trying to find information from the Paradoxers, I think it's a waste of time, but by all means, if you find something it will help."

"So, what then?" asked Fox.

"We wait," Sorin said simply.

"You know the term _fatalistic_?" asked Sam.

Fox nodded, "It means a person who believes that everything is left to fate, and that all things that happen are inevitable."

"Our plan is to be fatalistic," Sam said, "we know Shar's on his way here, anything we need to know, we'll find out when he gets here."

"If we can learn anything beforehand it would be advantageous, but in the end all we can do is wait for him to show up," Sorin said shrugging.

"Alright," Fox replied, "I'll see what I can find out, until this person shows himself, we'll just play the Paradoxers' game and wait."

"The next fight we have to worry about is Tifa and Link, which doesn't come up until just after the Donkey Kong fight," Sorin said, "so if you need us to do anything on the sidelines for you, we're available."

"I think Snake is handling our espionage," Fox replied, "but if I think of anything I'll let you know."

"Okay then, everyone go back to acting like you're dumb fictional video game characters," Sam said, "who's hungry?"

"I am," Tifa said.

"There's gotta be a place to eat around here other than the Shera," Cid said.

"Well, you know me," Sam said, "if there isn't, I'll find—"

"Yes," Vincent cut Sam off, "a loophole, we know…you'll find a loophole."

Sam looked indignant, "I need a new catchy phrase."


	33. More Questions than Answers

**Chapter 33**

**More Questions than Answers**

Sorin sat quietly on the ground, looking up endlessly at the black castle. He lay back in the grass, even from his lying down position the castle was still large enough to be in his line of sight.

The castle.

The black castle.

Sorin stared on, the answer was right here, he was looking at it, but through a haze that blocked him from seeing it clearly…from seeing it at all.

"Tired?" asked Sam, appearing in Sorin's line of sight.

Sorin sat up and looked at Sam, "No, just trying to work some things out."

"Shar will tell us everything we need to know, we shouldn't be worrying about it," Sam said.

"I'm not sure Shar knows everything there is to know," Sorin replied, "I think there's more here than even he understands."

"Well, that's not good," Sam said, sitting down beside the Cetra, "tell me what you're getting at."

"Black castle," Sorin muttered, "I don't know, it's like it's right here, staring me in the face."

"Well, whatever we're looking at, it's some kind of paradox, right? I mean, this was all created by Paradoxers," Sam said shrugging.

"I think there's more to all this than we know, the Paradoxers have another purpose here, other than hiding. I suppose it could be anything…but maybe they had nothing to do with this castle at all…" Sorin said, staring quietly at the construct.

Sam knew when Sorin was in deep thought like this he'd tend to trail off on an unfinished thought, so he didn't really appear to make much sense, "There _is_ definitely something wrong here, though."

Sorin looked at Sam, "Like?"

"Well, I've been looking all over for Dante, from Devil May Cry, and he's not here," Sam said, "so either the Paradoxers screwed up, or there is _definitely_ something wrong here."

Sorin looked at Sam silently for a moment, "Shut up."

"Geez, what are you? Vincent?" asked Sam chuckling.

"The lack of a video game character isn't a problem," Sorin said and went back to looking at the castle.

"This is really bugging the crap out of you, isn't it?" asked Sam.

"Yes," Sorin muttered.

"Alright then, I'll be serious," Sam said, "but you have to admit, no Son of Sparda, that's—"

Sorin looked at Sam, he stopped talking.

"—alright, alright, sorry, really, I'll be serious. What makes you think this castle has any significance whatsoever, anyways?" asked Sam.

"It may be nothing, but the fact it is coloured black," Sorin said.

"Black's a _shade_…so it can't technically be _coloured_ black," Sam said.

"Do you want to die…again?" asked Sorin.

"Is that a rhetorical question?" asked Sam.

"No," Sorin retorted.

"You weren't supposed to answer that," Sam said, "it was a rhetorical question."

Sorin muttered something under his breath and just ignored Sam.

"Come on, whatever it is you're trying to get your head around, the likelihood of it really mattering at all is slim," Sam said, "the only thing I can think of here is the fact that back in that other existence the Temple of the Ancients was all black. As well, the City of the Ancients, when Wymond went to see his contact about Teleran, was all in black."

Sorin nodded, "Possibly a coincidence."

"The buildings used to complete the Unavoidable Paradox and summon the Ancient Black are black," Sam said, "boy that's a blast from the past. Of course, if this was an Unavoidable, along with an attempt to destroy existences like the Outcasts tried, we'd know about it."

"Unless it's an Unavoidable so large and encompassing that we don't see it because we're in it," Sorin said.

"What're you getting at, you thinking the Bane?" asked Sam.

"The Bane can bring about all sorts of problems; the Unavoidable Paradox is not out of the question. That would have to mean that the Paradoxers didn't actually create this castle, but it was already here," Sorin deduced.

"So what the hell are they using it for and what the hell are they waiting for? If Shar is using the Bane, and the Paradoxers wanna get away from Shar, logic would state staying close to a building created by Shar is a bad idea," Sam said, "it doesn't make sense."

"There's too much we don't know," Sorin said shaking his head, "I have a very bad feeling about this one, Samael."

"Don't do that," Sam said.

"Do what?" asked Sorin.

"Call me Samael in that ominous tone, you're freaking me out," Sam said.

"We thought the Outcasts were bad, I feel this may become even more damaging, there's too much in favour of our enemies, something's gone terribly wrong," Sorin said. "We've lost any communication to worlds outside, even Centre Time."

"We're in a fringe existence, that's what happens," Sam said.

Sorin shook his head, "There's something else at work."

"You and I both know existence as we know it just doesn't start spinning on it's ass for no reason, it's gotta be because of Shar," Sam said, "or something, nothing happens if it isn't caused by someone."

Sorin nodded, "I agree, but what if it isn't Shar? Should it be that our enemy is yet unknown we may not have the time to stop whatever is coming. I just hope that this castle holds our answers."

"Even if it does, it won't get us anywhere toward stopping whatever it is, unless Shar is the cause and we're overreacting," Sam said.

"Sorin, Sam!" yelled a familiar voice suddenly, they turned to see Mario riding at full speed on Yoshi.

"_Rrroshii!_" cried the green creature happily.

"Mario, what's the story?" asked Sam standing up.

Yoshi skidded to a halt expertly, "Fox wants you two to come take a look at something. It's something of a strange occurrence and he assumes you'll know what to make of it."

"Well, let's hope so," Sam said.

"Where is he?" asked Sorin, standing as well.

"Waiting in his Arwing, near your airship," Mario replied.

"Thanks, we'll find our own way there. Any news otherwise?" asked Sorin.

Mario shook his head, "Snake keeps coming up empty, and Fox is running out of places to look."

Sorin nodded, "Very well, let's hope this discovery by Fox means something."

"Or we might wanna hope it means nothing," Sam murmured.

"Sam, do the honours?" asked Sorin.

Sam snapped his fingers and the two were gone.

"I suppose it's no stranger than going down a green tube into a secret world," Mario said to Yoshi.

"_Rrrrooshii!"_ replied Yoshi.

§§

Sam and Sorin appeared on the bridge of the Shera, they immediately noticed Fox's Arwing hovering in front of the ship.

"Fox reports seeing something quite strange just outside the planet's atmosphere, I assume you've been filled in?" asked Wymond.

"That's about all we know," Sam said.

Cid opened a line of communication with Fox's Arwing, "Alright, you lead on, show us where this puppy is."

In response, the Arwing turned on the spot, angled upward, and shot toward the sky. The nimble Shera followed at a safe distance and broke through the atmosphere right behind Fox. The small, sleek, fighter took a sharp right and the Shera followed dexterously. It was mere moments before Fox brought his ship to a halt.

"Straight ahead," Fox's voice said.

Sam and Sorin got closer to the front viewing area, indeed there was something out of place. It was a white, or possibly silver, tinge and shaped like a literal slash in the fabric of space, as if put there by the careless slice of a swordsman.

"What is it?" asked Tifa.

"Jesus, look at that," Sam muttered in awe.

"I've never seen one quite that large," Wymond said.

"What is it?" asked Vincent.

Sorin looked at the others, "I believe you've encountered the Sky Holes before, yes?"

Cid nodded, "Yeah, right, blew the shit out of one of those monsters that came through one with the Highwind."

"This is like that, only much larger," Sorin said.

"What kind of thing does this do to existences, Sorin?" asked Fox's voice.

"Nothing good, Fox, but specifically there's no way to tell," Sorin replied, "I suggest we monitor it, going near it would be a bad idea, this is yet another thing I'm not sure of at the moment and I don't want to take any chances."

"I'll have one of my team keep an eye out at all times, any member that isn't fighting on the planet will take a turn watching it in their Arwing," Fox said.

"Sounds like a plan," Sorin said, "I'll get to work on figuring out exactly what it is and what it means. If anything happens let us know immediately."

"You got it, Fox out," Fox cut the communication.

"Told you," Sam said.

"What?" asked Sorin.

"No Son of Sparda, something's up," Sam said laughing.

Sorin shook his head, "Somebody kill him…again."

Vincent drew Cerberus.

Sam mocked incredulity, "Tall dark and shadowy, buddy ol' pal…you wouldn't!"

Vincent kept Cerberus drawn.

"Yeah," Sorin said, "he would."


	34. Parasite

**Chapter 34**

**Parasite**

Sorin jumped up in his seat suddenly; the presence of another person nearby startled him.

Tifa smiled, "Sorry."

"That's alright," Sorin said, rubbing his eyes, "are you alright?"

Tifa nodded, "Are you?"

Sorin looked at her tiredly, and then down at the large brown book he had open in front of him, "No."

Tifa gave him a concerned look, then went around Sorin's desk and looked over his shoulder to see what he was reading, "Existential Anomalies?" She had a little trouble saying the words.

"Yes, I'm trying to pinpoint exactly what our mystery hole in space is," Sorin said, "a slow process at best."

"Parasites?" Tifa asked, pointing to a bolded subtitle.

Sorin leaned back in his chair and stretched, "That's my best theory so far."

"That thing in space is a parasite?" asked Tifa.

Sorin shrugged, "In a sense, it's all a bit more complicated than that. In the simplest terms, I believe our mystery hole could possibly be a type of parasite or virus…unfortunately, I believe we may be dealing with the worst case scenario."

"Which is?" Tifa asked.

"Jenova," Sorin replied.

Tifa looked surprised, "What makes you think that?"

"Shar was absolutely obsessed with destroying Jenova," Sorin said, "the fact our mystery hole appeared here around the same time Shar himself is scheduled to make an appearance…too much to be a coincidence. Shar isn't coming around for a reunion."

"Then again, that's really a matter of opinion," Sam said, appearing suddenly behind the two, "because you know Jenova has a thing about Reunions."

"And Sephiroth is always on the guest list," Sorin added.

"God knows why," Sam said shaking his head, "the guy tells the same damn jokes every year, and they're _always_ horrible jokes, over and over, I mean, he's not amusing at all…"

Tifa and Sorin looked at Sam.

"Did I go too far with that one?" asked Sam.

"Nothing we're not used to, I'm sure," Sorin muttered.

"So, wait," Tifa said, getting back on topic, "you think Jenova is infecting this entire existence, like she did in Centre Time with the planet?"

Sorin nodded, "One theory, yes."

"Every time Jenova shows up, you know the first people to get screwed over," Sam said.

"Cetra," Tifa said.

"Bingo," Sam nodded.

"I don't believe this is an isolated incident, either," Sorin went on.

"Great," Sam said.

"I've been getting some reports from other Elders about inexplicable problems in various existences," Sorin smiled, "in fact; they're currently trying to find a way to put the blame on you, Sam."

"Lovely," Sam replied.

"Reports of devastating effects in many existences, some catastrophic," Sorin said. "For instance, one group of Sigurd, out on a search for your hidden friends, Aeris and Cloud, discovered an existence where the entire race of Burmecians were extinct…wiped out."

"Jesus," Sam muttered, "and I always liked Freya, too. Final Fantasy IX was never my favourite, but still…"

Tifa looked between the two Cetra, confused as she usually was.

"There are more and more instances appearing all over, if I'm correct then we may be sitting very close to the source of these occurrences. If I'm not, we're simply looking at yet another anomaly, and the cause is yet to be found," Sorin said, resignedly.

Tifa put a hand on Sorin's shoulder and smiled, "Don't look so down, if anyone can figure this out, it's you, and you're an expert on this stuff."

Sorin closed his eyes, "The answer is here somewhere. I just need to find it."

"Take it easy, buddy, just talk to Tifa for a while, she's a better pick-me-up than caffeine, I guarantee," Sam said grinning and walking past Sorin's desk.

Tifa smiled back at Sam, and then leaned toward Sorin, "That was a compliment, right?"

"Yes, I believe it was," Sorin replied.

"Sometimes it's hard to tell," Tifa said.

"Though sometimes hard to decipher, Sam's words are very rarely disparaging unless he dislikes you," Sorin said, "and he definitely doesn't dislike you."

"_To anyone who's listening, this is Fox, the…thing, hole, whatever it is, out in space…I think it's getting bigger_," Fox's voice said suddenly throughout the bridge. Cid had kept an open line of communication with Fox's Arwing so he could report in on the mystery anomaly that had appeared out in space.

"Bigger," Sorin muttered, "Fox, how much bigger?"

"_An extremely small amount, I only noticed it because the sensors on my Arwing picked up a small amount of movement_," Fox replied, "_at first I thought it might have been something coming through. Instead it appears the hole itself is moving, growing_."

Sorin looked troubled, "It's dangerously close to the planet as it is. I believe there is no doubt, now, that whatever this hole in space is, it is most definitely not a peaceful creation."

"Thanks Sherlock, what else you got for us?" asked Sam sarcastically.

Sorin ignored him and talked again to Fox, "Keep a very close eye on the anomaly. I need to know if it appears to be growing specifically in a direction to make contact with the planet."

"_When I know, you'll know_," Fox replied, "_anything else_?"

"Just stay away from it," Sorin replied, "I'm beginning to believe this thing isn't as much a hole as a type of parasite, or virus."

"_I'd ask, but at this point it's not worth the confusion, Fox out_," Fox said, cutting communication.

"What is happening here?" asked Wymond, shaking his head.

"With any luck," Sorin replied, "I may be able to tell you. Until I can, you all should try to keep up the charade with the Paradoxers."

"Hey, Tifa, aren't you up soon?" asked Cid.

Sam nodded, "The fight with Link is scheduled in about an hour or so."

"Cid, why don't you fly the Shera back to the battleground, don't let on anything is out of the ordinary," Sorin said, "I will continue to try to uncover exactly what it is we are dealing with."

"You always were the riddle guy," Sam commented.

Sorin shook his head, "Not this kind of riddle…never this kind."

§§

Tifa and Sam looked up the height of Hyrule castle where she would be facing Link in only a few minutes.

"You're fighting on his home turf, some might say that gives him an advantage," Sam said, looking upward.

Tifa looked away from the castle and at Sam, "Is what they say true?"

"Only if you make it true," Sam replied.

"That was almost wise," Tifa said smiling.

Sam looked at her and winked, "There's a little more going on here than just charm and good looks, I guarantee."

"You think I can win?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied rolling his eyes, "these guys are fictional creations, made up by a bunch of psychotic Cetra with a little bit too much dare to dream. You're real; as long as you don't stand still and let him win you'll have no problem."

Tifa nodded, "I hope so."

"Besides," Sam shrugged, "you could probably kick my ass anyways; this guy should be no problem."

"Oh come on, now you're just trying to make me feel better about myself, you and I both know there's no way I could beat you," Tifa said.

"Okay," Sam said, "take away the already being dead part, and the all-powerful staff I'm carrying—"

"—the telekinesis," Tifa cut in.

"—okay, yes, the telekinesis, other than that, I got nothing."

"So, as long as you take away everything that makes you the Cetra you are I can win," Tifa said looking at Sam unconvinced.

Sam opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, and opened it again, "You really know how to kill a compliment."

"Sorry," Tifa replied grinning.

"Yeah, well, doesn't change the fact you've got more than enough skill to get through this," Sam went on, "you survived everything that was thrown at you before."

Tifa nodded.

"Then again, at least you had Cloud to carry you all along," Sam continued.

Tifa's eyes widened at Sam, "He did not! I did plenty when he wasn't around!"

Sam laughed, "Yeah, I know."

Tifa looked away.

"Although, nothing important really got done until Cloud was around," Sam added.

She looked back indignantly.

"_Still_ kidding!" Sam said, jumping to the side a little.

"If you weren't already dead…" Tifa muttered.

"Eventually someone's gonna have to stop using that as an excuse and actually try to kill me," Sam said.

Tifa was in the process of a reply when she was abruptly teleported away, and appeared atop Hyrule castle.

"Good luck," Sam murmured.

Above, Tifa looked around for a moment, and then looked across the roof to her opponent. Link stood, sword drawn with his boomerang in his free hand.

They both stared at one another for a few moments. Link made the first move.

"It's only true if you make it true," Tifa whispered to herself before confronting Link's first attack.

The boomerang came flying at a very high speed toward Tifa, she just barely managed to duck under the thing and get to a standing position before Link charged in with his sword.

Tifa ducked and side-stepped slashes from every angle, she was more than fast enough to evade Link's attacks, but the attacks were constant enough that it kept her constantly on the defensive. Tifa eventually managed to get herself in a position to make an attack, however the sound of an approaching object from behind prevented her from executing the attack.

The boomerang connected solidly with the back of Tifa's head, sending her falling forward and flat on the roof. Her head was spinning, but she still had enough of her senses left to roll to the left as Link's sword impacted the spot where she had been previously. Link kept up the attack while his enemy was on the ground, taking advantage of his superior position. His jabs with the sword were so fast his arm was a blur; luckily Tifa was capable enough to keep moving to stay just ahead of the impossibly fast attacks.

Link jabbed downward heavily, Tifa rolled right, his sword jabbed into the roof, hitting nothing. Tifa rolled back and kicked Link in the back of the head sending him falling similar to the way she had when the boomerang hit her, she stood up.

"Now we're even," Tifa said, sounding a little out of breath.

Link popped up, slashing upward dexterously, forcing Tifa back quickly. She stepped aside to avoid a horizontal strike, and then kneed Link in the stomach, which was followed by her grabbing him by the collar of his green tunic and tossing him easily backward and to the ground. Link, however, moved with the momentum of the fall and ended up back on his feet. In his place he left a dark blue, spherical object. Tifa wasn't entirely sure what the item was, but instincts told her it could be nothing good. She immediately dived to the side and got out of range just as the bomb exploded. The heat of the explosion still reached Tifa, but the eruption was too far away to cause any real damage.

She rolled to her feet and turned, Link was gone. Tifa looked around, spinning and looking in different directions, Link eventually appeared coming down from above, Tifa had just enough time to get out of the way.

As soon as he landed, Link threw his boomerang. Tifa ran toward the projectile, and this time dived over it, landing and rolling back to her feet, not losing any momentum. Link however anticipated this as a possibility and quickly had a bow and arrow readied. An arrow shrouded with flame came flying straight at Tifa, she knew stopping wasn't an option.

Tifa instead jumped into a back flip, the flip itself didn't have enough to stop her momentum. This resulted in something of a spectacular back flip while still continuing forward through the air. During the flip, her right foot caught the arrow and kicked it upward. The projectile flipped uselessly and landed on the ground, Tifa also hit the ground and continued forward, still with very little momentum lost.

Link attempted to block Tifa's oncoming attack, but was unable. Like Link's jabs, Tifa's punches were incredibly fast, and left her fists appearing as blurs. In this case, though, Link wasn't able to avoid the attacks. Her flurry of punches quickly blew Link backward and toward the edge of the roof, Tifa's opponent, completely defenseless, could only try and sustain the devastating attacks being dealt.

Tifa's attacks stopped as soon as Link was standing on the very edge of the roof. Her opponent looked a bit confused as to why she had stopped instead of finishing him off.

Tifa stepped back for a moment, Link continued to look on in confusion as Tifa quickly ducked and Link's own boomerang came flying back, smashing him in the face and sending him head over heels off the roof and to the ground.

"Nice," Sam muttered, looking up.

Tifa was returned, she turned to see Sam.

"That was kinda mean, the thing with the boomerang and all," Sam said.

Tifa smiled, "It was either that or it hit me in the back of the head again."

"In that case, better his face than your head, I suppose," Sam replied.

"_Sam, you hearing me? Is Tifa still fighting_?" asked Sorin's voice through Sam's earpiece.

Sam touched his ear, "She just finished kicking Link's ass."

"_Good, I need you two back here as soon as possible. I believe I've pinpointed a very likely theory for our parasite, and if I am indeed correct…"_ Sorin paused for a moment, "…_if I am correct, we may not have as much time as I had previously hoped_."

"This thing growing faster than expected, I guess," Sam said shaking his head, "how much time do you think?"

Tifa looked at Sam questioningly, she didn't have an earpiece and could only hear Sam's end of the conversation.

"_At best, the infection will begin to attack the planet well before the second round even begins_," Sorin said ominously.

Sam's eyes widened slightly, "Jesus on ice skates."

"_Yes, I've called everyone back to the Shera, get here as fast as you can_," Sorin said.

Sam looked at Tifa for a moment, and then spoke to Sorin again, "Whatever we're gonna do, sounds like we should do it soon."


	35. Under the Castle

**Chapter 35**

**Under the Castle**

Sam sat on a chair looking through the front viewing area of the Shera. He watched the silver tinged parasite out in space slowly inching toward the planet. In a matter of thirty minutes the thing had gone from gradually getting bigger to increasing at a constant rate. Sorin estimated in about the equivalent of a day the planet would already be consumed by whatever this parasite was exactly. In ten hours it would begin to grow exponentially and cut the distance in half. In another nine hours the parasite would be at least three-quarters in and increasing its rate of growth. In five hours the rate of increase would double, at least…after those five hours the planet would be contacted by the parasite. Then whatever happens…happens.

This was all, of course, a theory created by Sorin. Unfortunately, Sam had never doubted Sorin's knowledge of such things.

He hoped Sorin was right about the time. If this thing came early it would catch them with their backs turned.

"We should find your damn Paradoxers and get what we need out of them right now," growled Snake, "while we've still got time."

"They control this place entirely," Sorin replied shaking his head, "finding them would be very difficult, getting them to tell us what we want would be near impossible."

The group that was gathered in the middle of the bridge added to the growing discussion between Sorin and Snake. They were all frantically trying to figure out exactly what their options were, if any. Sam, however, just sat a good few feet away, staring silently at their enemy: the virus of unknown origins.

"We can't even consult my contact, the City of the Ancients doesn't exist here, she won't be able to communicate without the water there," Wymond said.

"You think this contact of yours might know something?" asked Fox.

"It's possible," Wymond said.

"I'd say likely," Sorin added, "so far she's been very correct about things, let's not forget Teleran."

"Then talk to her," Snake said.

"I told you, I can't, not here," Wymond replied.

"Then talk to her _somewhere else_," Snake said simply.

"Transporting myself away could run the risk of my not being able to get back," Wymond said hopelessly, "we would gain nothing."

"Our abilities are very limited here because of the Paradoxer control. If we could somehow disrupt their illusion, I could possibly get a message to our contact by other methods," Sorin said.

"How do we do that without actually encountering the Paradoxers?" asked Fox.

Sorin shook his head, "I don't think we can."

"Damn," Snake murmured, "we're going in circles here."

The group looked around at all present. Silence fell over them; the idea that they possibly could do nothing at all had already set in. For some, helplessness had a delayed reaction. None of them were particularly used to a hopeless situation; they hadn't survived this long not knowing what to do.

"We're overlooking something," Sam said suddenly, almost everyone in the group jumped at the sudden sound of his voice. "The castle, the black castle the Paradoxers used, the one where Vincent ran into Snake for the first time, and the one you yourself, Sorin, thought was the answer to all this, but you just couldn't see it."

"What about it?" asked Snake.

Sam continued to stare off blankly at the Parasite, "It wasn't created by the Paradoxers. It was created by the same person that created the black Temple of the Ancients."

"Which is who?" asked Fox.

Sam shrugged, "The hell should I know?"

Vincent looked at Sorin, "Can I actually shoot him this time?"

"Sam, what are you getting at?" asked Sorin.

Sam spun around in the chair to face them all, "What would Aeris do?"

They looked at him blankly; he did appear to be the only person with any idea of the words he was saying.

"What would Jesus do?" asked Sam.

Still only stares.

"Is there a point to this somewhere?" asked Snake after a moment of silence.

"Other than get stabbed in the back, what would Aeris do?" asked Sam.

"Pray?" asked Wymond looking at Sam curiously.

Sam smiled, pointing at Wymond, "Warmer, now if you were gonna pray to stop something coming toward your planet, who would you pray to?"

"Jesus?" asked Sorin smiling.

Sam stood up, "Colder."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Snake muttered.

Sam made a gesture that indicated it might be cold on the bridge, "Freezing."

"Pray to…" Wymond trailed off for a second, "…Holy?"

"Well, yes…but I'm talking bigger! Have you _played_ Final Fantasy VII?" asked Sam incredulously.

"The Lifestream," Sorin said.

"Bingo, now, we obviously can't _ask_ the Lifestream a question, the Lifestream can't talk. Who can?" asked Sam.

"Dead Cetra?" asked Wymond.

"Tad warmer…not by much," Sam replied.

"Elders?" asked Wymond.

"Warmer," Sam said, "but Sorin's an Elder and he doesn't know the answer."

Wymond muttered something under his breath.

"We ask something in the Lifestream that's not Cetra?" asked Tifa.

"Warmer, don't think so much _in_ the Lifestream," Sam said.

Most of the people present shook their heads in confusion.

Sorin looked around, "The existence itself?"

"A lot warmer," Sam said nodding.

"Well, y'all're Cetra," Cid said shrugging, "can't you ask the damn planet what's goin' on?"

"_Disco_!" Sam yelled. "We have a winner, get this man a cigar!"

"I prefer cigarettes," Cid muttered.

"Ask the planet," Sorin said, "that might work."

"I haven't done that kind of thing in a very long time," Sam said, "but I'm sure at least one of us here can handle it."

"Deciphering the words of the planet is not so simple as having a conversation," Sorin explained, for the benefit of the others, the Cetra on the bridge were aware of that fact.

"How long is this kinda thing gonna take?" asked Fox.

Sorin shook his head, "I'm not sure, it varies by the Cetra."

"You'd be the fastest," Sam said to Sorin, "you're an Elder."

Sorin nodded, "Generally, that is the case."

"Alright, Sorin, you take care of that," Sam said, "now back to my second point, the castle."

"I found a room backstage in that place, the room itself was common enough," Snake said, "but you might see something I don't."

Sam smiled, "I was hoping you might say something like that."

"What's our next move?" asked Fox.

"Sorin, do your thing with the planet," Sam said, Sorin nodded, "Snake, you and I are gonna do some looking around. Obviously we aren't exactly welcome inside that castle so I want some people around it keeping an eye out. If the Paradoxers noticed our little friend in space then they might be a little more cautious of their castle than they were before."

"I'll come," Tifa said.

"Mario and Yoshi are already on planet," Fox said, "they can accompany you."

"Rest of you, keep an eye on our parasite," Sam said, "if anything drastic happens we wanna be off this planet as soon as possible."

"Alright, then let's get to work," Sorin said.

Sam, Tifa, and Snake were taken back to the planet where they met up with Yoshi and Mario. The group made their way to the black castle, Sorin prepared himself to speak with the planet and the others returned with the Shera to monitor the virus.

They were all on the clock.

"People, there's a chance whatever this parasite is that it's only growing at the rate it's growing at because it _chooses_ to," Sam said, "hope Sorin's right about our time limit, because if he's being optimistic then we won't have much time to bail out."

Snake nodded, "That kind of situation is common for me."

"Welcome to our life," Tifa muttered.

"Snake and I will get inside the castle and check out that room, if we find something we find something, if not we get out, simple as that," Sam said. "The rest of you just keep an eye on all entrances and let us know if someone is heading inside the castle so they don't sneak up on us. Tifa, you got the extra earpiece?"

Tifa nodded, after putting in her own she gave one to Mario.

"Just speak and I'll hear you," Sam said, "I gather you have a Codec?"

Snake tapped his ear and nodded.

"Of course you do," Sam said, "okay, you all know what to do, let's do it."

They reached the black castle and all looked around for any sign of onlookers. Snake and Sam both made a run for the front doors while the others dispersed in different directions. Yoshi on his own was no real use for warning them of danger, but if it came down to a fight Sam knew the green creature was more than capable of backing them up.

They entered through the front doors into the main hallway and quickly found cover behind one of the ornamental suits of armour.

"Try not to make too much noise, and keep up," Snake said, drawing one of his pistols.

"Do I look like Raiden?" asked Sam smiling.

Snake shook his head, "What does everyone have against that guy?"

Sam laughed quietly, "Later, right now let's see if all this was a waste of time or not."

Snake aimed his pistol and headed forward slowly, both staying low and in the shadows of the armour. It was good they did, because one of the Paradoxers' dark-clad henchmen came walking into the hallway.

Snake stopped moving and ducked down further, Sam followed suit.

"You were right about heavier security," Snake whispered.

"No surprise," Sam said, "just means it's time for a little tactical espionage action…stuff…and that's what you do best."

Snake looked at Sam for a moment, then shook his head and continued forward carefully.

"I'll get the one out here, you check out the banquet hall," Sam said.

Snake nodded and headed slowly into the banquet hall, making sure the guard had his back turned as he did.

Sam grinned and looked around the suit of armour he hid behind. He formulated a plan, and then headed back behind the suits of armour.

The guard, after a few moments, heard a small noise coming from behind him. He turned and saw nothing, the noise came again. It sounded like something tapping on one of the suits of armour. The guard walked until he found the one he was sure the noise was originating from. He stood in front of the suit of armour and looked on curiously; there was no sign of anything. He was about to check behind the armour when suddenly the leg of the previously immobile decoration appeared to pull back.

The guard had enough time to look extremely confused before the leg swung forward, the heavily armoured greave smashing into the guard's face, knocking him out.

Sam stepped out from behind the suit of armour whose leg he had used to knock out the guard using his telekinesis.

"Didn't see that one coming," Sam muttered and headed toward the banquet hall.

He immediately spotted Snake ducking behind a table and quickly moved beside him.

"Two moving down the centre aisle," Snake informed, gesturing to the said enemies, "one on the stage. No way we can move on those two before the guy on the stage notices."

"Take care of the one on the stage, I'll make sure the other two are too distracted to notice," Sam said.

Snake nodded, "Give me some time to make my way to the stage, if I get spotted on my way there somehow get ready to make a move."

Sam headed slowly toward a table closer to his two targets, Snake headed toward the stage.

Snake watched the eyes of the guard on stage carefully; he was naturally very good at anticipating where a person might look, when the right time to move was. The guard looked off to his left. Snake stood and ran as fast as he could without making a sound. Still keeping an eye on the stage guard in case he looked back, Snake dived dexterously and rolled the rest of the way to the stairs that accessed the stage. Completely silent, the guard looked back to where, a moment before, he would have seen Snake moving.

Snake went up the stairs and accessed the stage. He made his way around the curtain to see the guard staring off across the banquet hall. The two guards Sam was taking care of still walked around the tables.

"Where the hell is he?" muttered Snake.

Suddenly, as if on cue, an entire table popped up in the air. The stage guard saw this and could only manage to stare on in confusion as the table flew into the two guards, knocking them both out.

Snake moved soon after, taking advantage of the absolute state of shock the stage guard was in. Snake moved out quickly, but slow enough his footsteps couldn't be heard. The stage guard had just regained his senses when Snake struck. He put one arm around the guard's neck and put a foot behind the guard's feet. Snake shoved the guard with his arm backward, over Snake's foot, and then in mid-air pushed hard downward. Snake turned the stumble quickly into a sharp, jolting, fall that knocked the guard out as soon as he hit the ground.

Sam joined Snake on the stage.

"Floating table?" asked Snake.

"It was a spontaneous thing," Sam replied shrugging.

Snake shook his head and turned, heading backstage. Sam followed.

Snake aimed his pistol around carefully, being sure there were no other guards backstage that might surprise them. They arrived at the door they were looking for without incident.

"This is it," Snake said.

"Doesn't look particularly threatening," Sam commented.

"It's a door," Snake said looking at Sam.

"Yes, that's my point," Sam replied.

Snake opened his mouth to say something else, but decided against it and opened the door. They entered to find a medium sized room with blank grey walls and more junk you would expect to see backstage.

"Nothing's changed since I was here," Snake said, holstering his pistol.

"Boring room," Sam said.

"As far as I can see there isn't much to look for here," Snake said dismissively.

"Well, we'll see," Sam said, walking around the room slowly.

Snake tried for a few moments to see what Sam was seeing, but quickly decided to leave the staring in wonderment to Sam. Snake turned to check the door, and to ensure no one walked in to accidentally stumble across them.

Sam knelt down in the middle of the room and looked at the ground, "Yahtzee."

Snake looked over at Sam, "Find something?"

Sam nodded, standing up and backing away. He held out a hand. For a moment nothing happened, but soon Snake noticed a difference in the ground in front of Sam. It was starting to lift upward, a small square of the floor. After the square was removed by Sam's telekinesis there was left a hole about big enough for one person to enter at a time.

"I'll go first," Sam said, "follow after I call for you."

Snake drew his pistol and nodded.

Sam hopped in and fell downward. There was only silence for the moments after.

Snake stood in suspense for a minute or two. After a while he decided to inch toward the hole to look down.

"_Boo_!" yelled Sam shooting out of the hole suddenly.

Snake jumped back, ready to fire on the thing coming out of the hole. After he realized the thing was Sam, he lowered his weapon.

"What the hell're you doing?" asked Snake.

"I gotcha!" Sam said laughing. "You were walking unsuspectingly…and then…_boom_!"

Snake stared at Sam.

"Sorry," Sam said looking down the hole.

"So?" asked Snake.

"So what?" asked Sam.

"So, what's down there?" asked Snake.

Sam shrugged, "No idea, I've been floating just below the ground the whole time waiting for you walk over. It totally paid off."

Snake muttered something under his breath and shook his head.

"I'll go check now," Sam said, dropping back down.

He returned after a few seconds, "Well, you should be able to survive the drop. There's just flat ground beneath, but not much light. I'll go around down there and try and get some lights going."

Snake holstered his pistol and pulled out another sidearm. This one had a flashlight attachment under the barrel, "I've got my own light."

Sam nodded, "Alright, then, come on down."

Sam disappeared; Snake gave Sam a few seconds to clear the hole and followed him down. Snake hit solid ground and ended up in a crouch. The room he was in was indeed pitch black, he couldn't make out anything at all around him. Snake activated the flashlight attachment on his gun and aimed it around. The light beam showed him bits and pieces of a very large room. There appeared to be computer screens on desks all over the place.

"I think I found some lights," Sam said from another area of the room.

There was a loud clunk and the room exploded in light. Some kind of fluorescent bulbs burst to life all throughout the room. Snake lowered his gun and brought up an arm to shield his eyes from the sudden light.

"Yowza, blinded by the light," Sam said, also with a hand in front of his face.

Both men adjusted to the light and looked around the large room.

"It looks like some kind of lab," Snake commented.

The technical equipment and strange housings, which could have been some kind of holding tubes, did suggest this was some kind of research facility. Snake, however, wasn't going to jump to any conclusions until Sam did.

"I'd say that's a good guess," Sam agreed, getting a three-sixty view of the room.

"What the hell for?" asked Snake.

Sam shrugged, "Whatever's in those holding tubes, I guess."

Snake holstered his sidearm and headed over to one of the tubes. The constructs were more like pods than tubes technically. They consisted of blank, dark grey, doors with a small glass circle in the middle, which Snake assumed was for viewing what was inside the pod. Sam walked over to the pod Snake was looking at.

Snake looked at Sam for a second, and then moved forward, looking through the circular window.

What he saw made him stagger backward a little.

"What is it?" asked Sam.

Snake just shook his head slowly, "I have no idea."

Sam walked over and looked in the window. Inside, a humanoid creature with black skin and strange deformities floated in a liquid substance.

"Mako," Sam muttered. "Snake, suddenly I get the feeling this place is very bad news."

"For once we agree on something," Snake said. "What the hell is that thing?"

"It's a human," Sam replied, stepping back from the pod.

Snake looked at Sam in shock, "That thing is human?"

"Subjected to large concentrations of a substance called Mako," Sam went on, "it's not the kind of experiment I expected to find here."

"Who the hell would turn a human into that?" asked Snake.

"A psychotic scientist," Sam replied matter-of-factly.

Snake just stared at the pod, imagining the creature he'd seen inside, "Are those…people…alive?"

"Inanimate inside the pod, but if they're like the other similar experiments they start moving once they're outside," Sam replied.

"Similar experiments?" asked Snake incredulously.

"This isn't the first time I've seen this kind of thing," Sam said, "but this indicates a much larger problem for us."

"No surprise there, I guess," Snake murmured.

Sam put a hand over his ear, "Can anyone hear me? This is Sam, everyone with an earpiece listen up."

Everyone reported back.

"People, I've got confirmed signs of Hojo down here," Sam looked around the room one more time, and then suddenly paused when his eye caught something, "…oh, Jesus on ice skates."

"_Sam, what's up_?" asked Tifa.

Sam stared at a large door across the room, Snake followed his gaze.

It was a nondescript door that appeared to slide upward to open.

Above the door there was a name: _Jenova_.

"Cid, get the Shera ready to go, tell everyone else to get on or find their own way off planet," Sam said urgently heading toward the door labeled _Jenova_. "We're getting outta this existence right now, I've got a feeling it's all about to come crashing down."


	36. Silver

**Chapter 36**

**Silver**

Sorin was sitting cross-legged on the ground when he got the worried report from Samael. Sorin had been preparing himself to converse with the planet, which was no easy task in their current situation, but was distracted by the urgency in his fellow Cetra's voice.

"Sam, what is it?" asked Sorin.

"_It doesn't matter, dude, just get on the Shera and get over here to pick us up, we gotta go_!" Sam yelled through the earpiece.

Sorin stared on in shock for a moment then moved to get up.

He froze mid way between standing and sitting when a voice spoke to him. It wasn't Sam.

"_Hello, Cetra_," greeted a hollow-sounding voice. Sorin was unsure as to whether it was male or female.

Sorin looked around cautiously, "Where are you?"

"Close," replied the voice.

"Who are you?" asked Sorin.

"The demise of this planet," replied the voice.

"Is that your first or last name?" asked Sam.

"You were hoping to speak with the planet; unfortunately the planet will be dead within moments. I will take it and move on as I have before," the voice replied.

"Who are you?" Sorin asked again.

"I would assume I'm more of a _what_ in your terms," the voice said, "you know exactly who I am, I'm everyone."

"Everyone," Sorin muttered.

"_Sorin for Christ's sake stop talking to it and go!"_ yelled Sam into Sorin's ear through the earpiece. "_Sorin, it's Jenova for God sakes, run!_"

"One of my many names," Jenova added.

Sorin's eyes widened, "In space…Jenova."

"Space, the vast nothingness where I was born," Jenova said, "where else would I come from?"

"_Sorin, get moving_!" Sam yelled.

"The Cetra, even beyond the grave, have continued to be an annoyance," Jenova said, "it appears all my efforts to kill you were only a minor success. It was possible for me to infect living creatures, but the Lifestream itself, much more difficult to infect the Lifestream entirely."

"_Well, if it's not Sephiroth it's you, don't you guys have any hobbies_?" asked Sam.

"This is my purpose," Jenova replied.

"_Your purpose can go screw itself, it doesn't matter what existence you're in, you've been defeated once and it will just keep happening over and over," _Sam said defiantly.

"Very optimistic of you, Cetra, but this time I'm not just infecting the people," Jenova said, "I'll be taking the entire planet at once."

"How?" asked Sorin.

There was no response from Jenova.

"How, Jenova?" asked Sorin forcefully.

Silence.

"_It's going down right now, get going!_" Sam growled.

Sorin did so very quickly.

§§

Sam looked back at Snake, "We gotta go."

Snake nodded to the door labeled _Jenova_, "What's in there?"

Sam shrugged, "Doesn't matter, the real deal is waiting out in space. We gotta be outta here before it makes a move, let's go."

Sam and Snake exited through the hole in the roof, with a little help from Sam's telekinesis. They headed out from the backstage and through the banquet hall.

"What about the Paradoxers?" asked Snake.

"Whatever information they might have for us isn't worth risking our lives for," Sam replied.

Snake just seemed to accept this, if a bit reluctantly, and moved quickly out of the castle.

Tifa, Mario, and Yoshi met them outside.

"Everyone else is on the Shera, headed this way," Tifa informed.

"Let's meet them half way, we don't have much ti—" the world began to shake around them, the tremors cutting off Sam in mid-sentence.

"What now?" asked Snake.

Sam looked up and saw what he expected. Something that looked like a very menacing silver blob floating down from the sky. It was huge…about the size of the parasite that was floating in space.

Safe bet it _was_ the parasite that was floating in space.

"It's coming," Sam said.

The atmosphere itself seemed to almost sizzle on contact, and the silver parasite pushed through like acid through paper. Now inside, the silver substance dropped like a liquid and hit the grass. The green grass, in turn, became silver and flattened. The silver then began to spread outward, destroying grass and turning everything it touched into the same liquid silver.

Sam was tired of making his point about how urgently they needed to leave, so instead he started running.

"Mama-mia!" Mario cried.

"You said it, brother, let's go!" Sam agreed.

The group ran forward, hoping to see the Shera heading toward them. Sam had to step aside to narrowly miss a stream of the strange silver stuff that was attacking the planet.

"Don't touch the stuff, I'm not sure exactly what it is," Sam warned.

The silver substance was quickly eating up everything, as Sam looked back he took note of the fact that the black castle was left untouched.

"Sam!" yelled Tifa.

Sam looked forward in time to see what appeared to be a small tidal wave of the silver stuff coming at him. He was fast enough to dive to the side and roll out of range.

"It's like the stuff's aiming for us," Snake growled.

"I'd say that's a good bet," Sam replied.

"Another one!" yelled Mario.

Another small tidal wave attacked from the left, everyone jumped in different directions. Once everyone got back on their feet they looked around.

"Damn," Snake said, suddenly, "we're surrounded."

Indeed, the silver substance now seemed to have them circled, and was moving inward.

Mario held out his right hand, a sphere-shaped ball of flame appeared floating a centimeter or two above his palm. He quickly grabbed the fireball and tossed it at the silver stuff. The substance reacted to the fire by splitting apart and breaking away, however it quickly began to move forward again.

"Mario, you gotta clear us a path," Sam said.

Mario nodded and began tossing fireballs at rapid speeds, effectively clearing a path.

"I always thought you could only throw three at a time," Sam commented.

Mario looked back curiously.

"Then again I played a lot of the original NES game," Sam muttered shrugging.

Mario ignored Sam and continued to clear a path through the silver stuff. After a few moments, Sam heard a growl and saw Snake fall to the ground.

The tip of Snake's boot had touched some silver stuff and it felt like his foot was being ripped off. In the desperate situation, the only option he could think of was to pull his gun and start firing. He emptied an entire clip into the silver stuff, it was enough to make it back off, but wasn't nearly as effective as Mario's fire.

"Are you okay?" asked Tifa, helping Snake up.

Snake cursed under his breath and looked up, "Let's get the hell outta here."

"Lovely idea," Sam agreed, "Sorin, where's the goddamn Shera!"

"_On the way_," replied Sorin.

"Hurry!" Sam yelled.

"Another wave!" yelled Mario.

This silver tidal wave came at them from the front. They didn't have any space to move.

Sam jumped forward and held out his hand, his telekinesis held the tidal wave in place, as if frozen in ice.

"Mario, start chipping away at it with your fire," Sam said.

Mario nodded and cocked his arm back for a throw, and was suddenly swallowed by some silver substance that caught him by the foot. The rate at which the video game character was swallowed was so fast that Sam hadn't noticed for a few seconds.

"Shit," Sam muttered, the silver substance was gaining power. When it had grabbed Snake it only pulled him down, now it was simply just sucking people away.

"What now?" asked Tifa, looking around.

Sam opened his mouth to say something; he saw the silver substance had surrounded them. In fact, the silver substance now dominated everything in his line of sight. Even if he could hover them away, he had no place to land them.

"Sam?" asked Tifa, worriedly.

"I don't know," Sam muttered.

Snake looked around frantically, "Where's your goddamn ship?"

"Sorin!" Sam yelled.

"_Coming_," Sorin replied.

Sam muttered something under his breath; he used his telekinesis to hold off the silver all around them, but knew he didn't have enough energy to keep it up for long.

"What about your staff?" asked Tifa.

Sam shook his head, "If I try to use it I'll lose my concentration on the telekinesis, I won't be able to hold off the silver stuff."

Then the Shera came into view.

"'Bout damn time," Snake growled.

The Shera headed toward them, only about a meter away.

"Alright," Snake said, pulling two grenades, "let's see if this helps."

He pulled the pins and tossed the grenades, blowing back a lot of silver and giving them a good space to run toward the Shera.

"Tifa, take the staff," Sam said.

"Why?" asked Tifa.

"If I get eaten by this shit then it goes with me, give it to Sorin," Sam said.

Tifa shook her head, "Bring it with you."

"I gotta follow behind to hold off the silver stuff, I'll follow up last, take the staff to be safe," Sam growled.

Tifa took the staff reluctantly, "Don't take too long."

"No longer than usual," Sam replied smiling.

Tifa ran with Yoshi and Snake into the new opening Snake created. The Shera pulled overhead, lowering enough for Sorin to offer a hand down from the outdoor platform.

"Snake, take my hand," Sorin offered.

Snake jumped up and grabbed it, using his other hand, in a grand display of strength, to toss Yoshi over his own head and up on the platform.

"Sorin, tell Cid to pull up, there's a wave coming!" Sam yelled.

Sorin looked, still holding on to Snake, and saw the wave of silver stuff, just high enough to hit the Shera.

"Damn, Cid, pull up, pull up, now!" Sorin yelled.

"Tifa, my hand!" Snake yelled.

Tifa looked back at Sam.

"Go!" Sam yelled.

"No," Tifa yelled, "not without you!"

"Get on the ship, woman, what are you psychotic?" yelled Sam.

Another wave came in from another angle, smaller, headed right for Tifa.

"Tifa, quickly!" Sorin yelled.

Tifa looked at Sam.

"Shit," Snake cursed, seeing the smaller wave coming at her from behind, "behind, behind there's another one!"

Tifa turned and saw the other wave coming at her.

"Damn," Sam growled, suddenly letting go of the wave coming in on him and just managing to get out from under it in time as it hit the ground uselessly. He rolled quickly and hopped over a small stream of the silver stuff to get to Tifa. He landed beside her and used his telekinesis to shoot her upward.

"Wait!" she yelled, as she was shot upward, Snake grabbed her hand.

"Now, Cid, up!" Sorin yelled.

"Sam!" Tifa yelled, still hanging below Snake.

Sam looked at the oncoming smaller wave, he knew if he went now he'd never get above the small one unless the Shera stayed low enough, and if the Shera stayed low enough it would get hit by the larger wave still on its way.

"Cid," Sam said, "everyone's on, let's go!"

"_You got it_," Cid said. The Shera shot upward.

"No, wait, Sam!" Tifa yelled.

"Damn, wait, Sam's still down there!" Snake yelled, "stop the ship!"

The Shera pulled above the larger wave.

Sam stared into the oncoming smaller wave, "Well, this should be interesting."

The wave fell over him, followed by the much larger one a moment later.

"No!" screamed Tifa.

Snake looked around the platform, trying to find a spot where Sam might have miraculously escaped the wave.

"Sam," Sorin muttered.

"_Yooshii_!" cried the green creature.

"He could survive that, right?" asked Tifa desperately to Sorin.

"He's like you, right, one of those Cetra people?" asked Snake.

Sorin shook his head, "I don't know."

"What don't you know?" asked Tifa.

"I don't know," Sorin replied sadly.

"Damn!" Snake growled.

Tifa looked over the edge of the platform at the now very silver world below, "Sam…"


	37. Taking Action

**Chapter 37**

**Taking Action**

Sorin looked through the forward viewing area. The planet floating below was now entirely silver, and the body of silver that had been hovering in the darkness of space was now gone. It could have been because all that silver was now on the planet, or maybe because it had gone somewhere else. Either way, things were going downhill.

"We don't know enough about this stuff to assume he's dead," Fox said, looking on with Sorin.

"True," Sorin agreed, "we don't know enough about anything."

"So who do we ask?" asked Fox.

Sorin shook his head, "I don't know, and if I don't know, chances are the rest of the Cetra don't know. We may very well be the only people who know what the silver stuff actually is."

"We gotta figure out where it's going, find a way to stop it," Fox said.

"Where to get that information is the problem," Sorin muttered.

"Well, we haven't really tried shooting it yet," Fox suggested.

Sorin looked at him, "It's a start."

"So now we just have to find it," Fox said, nodding.

"No one here is in any shape to continue, we'll wait," Sorin said, "some of us are hoping Samael will come flying off that planet, but it's been two days. We have to wait for people to lose hope before we can start."

"For a guy who was so annoying he seems to have a lot of friends here," Fox smiled.

"It's not just a friend, we also lost someone who can find loopholes within existences, which means I'm the only person left with the capability."

"So if we lose you we don't have a backup, and we're in trouble," Fox said.

"Whatever happened to Sam, he's on his own, even if I knew how to help him throwing this whole ship anywhere near that planet is out of the question."

"If he's alive, I'm sure he can take care of himself," Fox turned from the viewing area, with his arms crossed.

On the bridge, Cid stood at the controls, staring endlessly forward. Everyone appeared to be in a daze.

Vincent Valentine stood leaning against a wall, arms crossed, not looking any different than he ever did. As if nothing had happened and everything was the same as it ever was. Of course, Vincent knew and was entirely aware of what happened to Samael, as well as how it affected everyone. He also knew if the depression set in then the Cetra would also die in vain.

Rallying forces would get him nowhere; they were in no shape to fight anyone.

"I know what you're thinking," Wymond said. The appearance of the Cetra startled Vincent a bit, but he didn't show it.

"Unlikely," Vincent replied.

"Go off on your own, leave this behind, see if you can make a difference while they wallow," Wymond said.

Vincent looked at the guardian, "It appears you did know what I was thinking."

"I agree," Wymond added.

"Agree that you knew what I was thinking?" asked Vincent.

"I agree that you should leave this behind and see what you can do while they wallow," Wymond reiterated. "One exception to that plan, however. I'll be joining you."

"We can't get anywhere without Sorin," Vincent said logically.

"True enough, my abilities as far as existence jumping are limited, but I have enough to get us to someone who could help with that," Wymond replied.

"Who?" asked Vincent.

"Well, if you're coming, then you'll see," Wymond said simply, "so, are you coming?"

"Does Sorin know?" asked Vincent.

"Even if he did, he couldn't leave the Shera, the ship needs him to jump existences. If Sam were still around he would have come, I'm sure, but at this point we're limited. Even if our endeavour is fruitless, at least we can bring back another with the ability to jump existences."

"Why can't Sorin just travel there and bring them back?" asked Vincent.

"Must you ask so many questions?" countered Wymond.

"Yes, generally," Vincent replied deadpan.

Wymond muttered something and answered the question, "Sorin doesn't know where this person is."

"And you do," Vincent stated.

"Yes," Wymond replied.

"When do we leave?" asked Vincent.

"Finally, a question I can live with," Wymond smiled, "how's now?"

Vincent pushed away from the wall, "Now's fine."

"Let's head into the corridors, if we just disappear here in plain sight we might arouse suspicion," Wymond said.

"As opposed to arousing suspicion when they realize we're gone?" asked Vincent.

"In truth, Sorin would probably try to stop us," Wymond said, lowering his voice, "let's face it, he's a bad-ass Cetra on the outside, but moments like these he gets all protective. We can get more done on our own as opposed to sitting here, he knows that, he just wouldn't like the idea of splitting up, that's all."

"What he doesn't know can't hurt him," Vincent said.

"Yeah," Wymond agreed.

"That really is a terribly misunderstood saying," Vincent muttered.

Wymond nodded to the door on the bridge, "Let's go."

The two walked casually, and unnoticed, off the bridge and into one of the corridors.

"Now I'm gonna have some trouble locating her exactly, but Sam gave me enough info that I can get us in the right existence, at the right time and all that," Wymond said.

"Her?" asked Vincent.

"I intended for it—"

"I'm more interested in where we're going than who we're looking for, personally," Snake cut in, neither Vincent nor Wymond had seen the man standing around the corner of another hallway.

They turned to look at him.

"You two don't plan to sit here and wait, I sure as hell don't, I'd say we're headed to the same place," Snake said, he never really said it in a way that actually came out as a request to come along. More like it was already a known fact.

Wymond and Vincent seemed to notice the uncompromising attitude.

"Another existence, we wanna grab another person who can jump existences like Sam and Sorin can," Wymond explained.

"And you can get us there," Snake guessed.

Wymond nodded.

"Then I suggest we leave before someone else wants to join us," Vincent said.

"Friendly guy," Snake murmured.

"On occasion," Wymond replied shrugging, "just stand still; I'm not particularly good at these long distance trips so this could be rough."

The three disappeared from the ship without a trace; their disappearance wouldn't be noticed for hours.

§§

The ride itself wasn't felt at all. However, the landing was rough.

Snake felt as if the ground had been thrown at him, as opposed to landing on the ground. He landed hard on his side, bounced, and rolled, landing quite violently in a prone position. Wymond and Vincent landed similarly.

"Sorry about that," Wymond struggled to say.

Vincent said nothing; he was first to his feet. Snake got up along with Wymond. They all looked at their surroundings.

"What the hell…" Snake trailed off.

"This is the place," Wymond said, nodding. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to what us Cetra like to call a 'normal' plane of existence."

The landscape was incredibly different from anything Vincent was used to. It was sort of like Midgar, except instead of it just being a spot inside a large green field the entire place appeared to be Migar, with small spots of green field.

Snake was only surprised because it was different, but not unfamiliar.

"What is this place?" asked Vincent.

"It is where, in a sense, Centre Time originated from. There are only four places like this in total. One of which would be where Snake here was created, another in which he actually exists as a person. Here, Vincent Valentine, you exist only in a video game called Final Fantasy VII," Wymond explained.

Vincent looked at the Cetra, "Video game."

"As would any of your other friends, the only ones who wouldn't be known are Sam, Sorin, and myself, among some others, irrelevant as they are," Wymond said. "Here, Snake, you are also known only in a video game, Metal Gear Solid, there's a series of such games, not all by the same exact name."

"So, this place looks exactly like where I come from, but here I don't actually exist as a person?" asked Snake.

"Blurs the lines of reality and imagination," Wymond said, "try not to think about it too much."

"Wouldn't people think it's strange if they saw me, or Vincent here, walking down the street?" asked Snake.

"Remember, now, these people have only ever seen you in computer generated graphics. Here, you just look like very talented masters of disguise. Possibly nerds with far too much time on your hands, and far too much money with which to waste on such ambiguous costumes," Wymond said deadpan, "of course that's a stereotype, you don't have to be a nerd to have too much time on your hands. I think they call it…cos…cospl…cos-something or other. People dress up as characters from certain fictional media. Actually, when you think about it, dressing up like Vincent isn't all that odd around here; people will probably think it looks cool. You know, Information Age and all that."

Vincent looked at Wymond blankly.

"Still, it's gonna be hard to walk around unnoticed if we stand out like we do now," Snake said.

"You're supposed to be the master of stealth, hide somewhere," Wymond said smiling.

Snake glared.

"Sorry," Wymond said, "you're correct; I'll procure you some more normal clothing. Vincent, I imagine you shouldn't have too much trouble following without being seen. You seem to be able to find shadows in all the right places."

Vincent nodded.

Wymond returned shortly with inconspicuous clothing for Snake. Jeans, blue t-shirt, and a brown jacket with enough pockets to hold some of his ammunition.

"Don't worry about the guns, this is the United States, everyone walks around with them," Wymond said.

"Not the one I'm from," Snake said.

"This place is a bit more lawless, but still safer than most existences," Wymond said.

Snake found a place to change and gave his original get up to Wymond who used some convenient Cetra abilities to make it disappear.

"Where do we start?" asked Vincent.

Wymond shrugged, "They may not even be here anymore, if we get near her I can track her down, but otherwise it's trial and error."

"Either way, at least we get a scenic tour," Snake muttered.

"Welcome to New York City, home of the Statue of Liberty," Wymond started walking, "and the third series in the over-killed, and over-played, television show, CSI."

Vincent looked at Snake, "What's a CSI?"

Snake followed Wymond, "Who cares?"


	38. Searching

**Chapter 38**

**Searching**

Snake and Wymond looked left and right before moving across the road to the adjacent sidewalk. Snake was no stranger to the streets of New York, and Wymond knew enough about it to appear to be a native of the city as well.

"Which bridge did you jump off?" asked Wymond.

Snake looked at the Cetra, "What?"

"In Metal Gear Solid 2, when you jumped off the bridge to get on the tanker," Wymond clarified.

Snake looked at the Cetra for a moment more before shaking his head slightly, "Do I wanna know how the hell you know about that?"

"I know a lot of things, not as much as Sam did, but I studied some stuff here and there," Wymond said.

Snake ignored Wymond's previous question and started walking again. Wymond decided to ask later.

"So we just walk until we come across the person we're looking for," Snake said.

"If we get within a certain distance I'll be able to sense them," Wymond said.

"How do you know they aren't dead?" asked Snake.

"You know the mysterious contact I mentioned before?" asked Wymond.

Snake nodded, "You couldn't contact her because you didn't have something called the City of the Ancients, something about needing water to talk to her."

"Exactly, that's who we're meeting," Wymond said.

"If you talked to her recently that means she must be alive," Snake agreed.

"Plus with the company she's keeping, there'd have to be an impossible number of enemies here to kill her," Wymond said. "She's alive, just _where_ is the only question."

"You know her well enough to guess, I hope," Snake muttered, "because New York isn't a small place."

"Trial and error," Wymond said shrugging.

"Would she be hiding out? Or would she wanna blend in with the crowd?" asked Snake.

"Most likely blend in, she's probably dressed somewhat normally, she won't stand out too much," Wymond said. "I think I know where to start."

"Bars?" asked Snake.

Wymond looked at him curiously, "Yes, that's what I was thinking."

"It's where I'd start," Snake said.

Wymond looked at Snake in amusement for a moment before turning his attention to a bar a few feet ahead, "We'll start there."

"Bars should be pretty light this time of day, probably not many people to ask," Snake said.

"If the bartender doesn't know, chances are no one does," Wymond said.

Snake looked at Wymond, waiting for some kind of elaboration on why exactly he thought that. No such explanation was forthcoming so he decided to let it go at that.

They entered the small bar and found it exactly as Snake expected. There were all of about five people in the place, all clearly there for one reason: they had no jobs and were wasting the last of their money getting drunk. The only person in the place that didn't appear to be a complete loser was the bartender. He stood behind the bar like a sort of sentry, walking emotionlessly from time to time to see to other tasks before returning to his chosen spot. Wymond and Snake walked up to the bartender.

"What can I getcha?" asked the bartender.

"Actually, I'm more looking for a person than a drink," Wymond replied.

"I see a lot of people," the bartender shrugged.

"A woman," Wymond went on.

"Did my ex send you?" asked the bartender with narrowed eyes.

Wymond looked at the bartender curiously, "I don't think so."

"Tryin' t'get me t'say _I see a lot of women, too_ so she has some more bullshit to use against me, get some more money outta me, what're you? Another one-a those Private Investigators?" asked the bartender.

"No, actually, I was kind of looking for just one _specific_ woman," Wymond said.

The bartender still looked suspicious, "Alright, what's she look like?"

"Long brown hair, possibly wearing pink, it's her colour, probably had flowers," Wymond said.

The bartender shook his head, "Ain't seen anyone like that 'round here.

"You're sure?" asked Wymond.

"Positive," the bartender replied.

Snake accepted the answer well enough; Wymond seemed not so easily pleased.

"She would've most likely been in a dress of sorts, she wouldn't completely stand out, but you would probably notice her," Wymond said.

"Look man, I said I ain't seen no one like that," the bartender growled.

The guy just got irritated easily, or he was hiding something, even Snake could pick up on that now. Generally, when someone was anxious to get rid of you, anxious to get rid of the question, like this guy was, then someone knew something they weren't saying.

"Think back," Wymond said, his hand moved slowly toward his hidden sword, only Snake saw the movement. Only because he wanted Snake to see it, Snake wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but he readied himself for anything. "Sometime last week, last week was in, what, July, right?"

The bartender nodded, "Yeah, right, but the damn month don't make no difference, I'm tellin' ya, I ain't never saw—"

Wymond drew his large sword and placed the blade under the bartender's chin, "It's March here in the real world, _mon ami_, only a visiting Sigurd would be unaware of real world months and dates."

The five other losers in the room stood up from their seats, Snake drew two pistols and aimed them toward the five men.

"This place isn't empty because it's too early for a drink, it's empty because the patrons are dead and it's a little hide-out for visiting Cetra," Wymond growled.

The bartender's eyes lit up a bright green, indeed, a Sigurd. Likewise, the other five in the bar lit up with green eyes.

"We knew she was here somewhere, but now that you've confirmed that fact we can authorize a much larger force to appear and hunt her down," the bartender smiled.

Wymond smiled as well, "Not if you're not alive, you can't. I don't think you realize exactly why Sam chose to place Aeris and Cloud here of all places."

The Sigurd looked on curiously.

"He chose here, because it's one of the few existences that can negate Sigurd power," Wymond said, the bartender's expression changed to surprise, "you know what that means? It means you're only as good as the next guardian, and guess what, _I'm_ the next guardian!"

Wymond drove his blade through the Sigurd's neck and into the wall behind him. Wymond withdrew the blade and allowed the lifeless body to fall to the ground.

"Well, go on, shoot them," Wymond said casually.

Snake aimed both pistols and fired away. Though the Sigurds' powers were lesser in a normal existence, they were still powerful. Enough to dodge Snake's first shots anyways, the five jumped and rolled off in different directions.

"Who are these guys?" growled Snake moving forward, figuring it would be harder for them to dodge the closer he shot.

"Cetra, like me, except a little more full of themselves," Wymond said.

Snake took that as answer enough and decided to focus on the enemies one at a time. The closest one was standing up from behind a table with a small sword drawn. He dived over the table and rolled, and then headed right toward Snake. Snake couldn't get a shot off fast enough so he instead decided to sidestep, narrowly missing the blade. Snake turned and fired off a shot, hitting the Sigurd in the back of the head.

Four to go.

Wymond shot across the room and smashed one Sigurd with the hilt of his sword, then quickly finished him with a blade to the stomach. The Sigurd usually weren't so easily dispatched, but under the circumstances they were at a disadvantage.

Three left.

Snake ducked under the horizontal slash of a sword and popped up, connecting the butt of his pistol with the Sigurd's chin, sending him staggering backward. Snake quickly kicked forward sending his opponent further back, and now doubled over. Snake emptied the clip of his gun into the stunned enemy just as the second last Sigurd charged him. The sword sliced a narrow cut along Snake's right arm; he growled and struggled to avoid another attack by the Sigurd. The green-eyed bar patron continued forward, slashing left and right.

"Sam Fisher probably would have them dead by now," Wymond taunted.

Snake ducked under a slash, grabbed the Sigurd's sword arm, pulled it backward and chopped downward with the butt of his pistol. He didn't take the time to look exactly, but by the sickening sound, and the scream, something was broken. The Sigurd fell to his knees, holding the useless arm. Snake picked up the Sigurd's dropped blade and used it to behead his enemy, all the while appearing not to hear the Splinter Cell remark from Wymond.

"Who's Sam Fisher?" asked Snake.

Wymond smiled, "Let's just say everyone wants to be like you, but only the real thing can deliver."

Snake decided, as he usually did, not to question any further. The last Sigurd charged at Wymond, the guardian was more than prepared to defend himself. Snake dropped the bloodied sword, aimed his second pistol, the one with ammo, and fired. The bullet blasted the Sigurd off his feet and onto the ground awkwardly.

"Well shot," Wymond commented, sheathing his sword.

Snake reloaded both pistols and holstered them, "Where's mister cloak and dagger gone to? He couldn't help us with that?"

Wymond shrugged, "Maybe he went off to find my contact."

"What now?" asked Snake.

"The Sigurd heard from someone that she was here, which means it's very likely she's here. Whether they knew for sure or not is irrelevant, but I get the vibe he knew a lot more than he let on, that bartender."

"Well, dead men don't talk," Snake said.

"True enough, let's get out of here before police arrive, this would be very hard to explain, possibly Vincent has discovered something," Wymond said, walking out of the bar with Snake in tow.

Apparently, no one outside had heard anything, and there was no commotion that suggested any police forces were on their way.

The two left the scene unnoticed and continued to walk down the sidewalk. They walked on for about twenty minutes, give or take, before a voice started speaking to both of them.

"_This is Vincent, do these communication devices still work_?" asked Vincent's slightly distorted voice.

"I hear you," Snake said, picking up the signal through his Codec.

"I hear you as well, Vincent, what's going on?" asked Wymond.

"_I think I may have found who we're looking for, who I assume we're looking for, anyways_," Vincent said.

"Where are you?" asked Wymond.

"_Keep_ _walking straight from the bar you just entered, you'll see what I see soon_," Vincent replied, "_did you find anything useful in the bar_?"

"Useful not so much," Wymond said, looking at Snake, "interesting, maybe."

"_Tell me all about it after_," Vincent said, cutting communication.

"Let's go," Wymond said.

The two walked at a faster pace, not entirely sure what they were looking for.

They saw what Vincent saw after only a few seconds.

An old-fashioned looking stand looked to at one point have sold things like newspapers and whatnot.

Now, clearly, its main product was flowers, lots and lots of flowers.

Snake looked at Wymond, "You mentioned flowers before."

Wymond nodded, smiling, "I'm almost not surprised."

"Almost?" asked Snake.

"The fact she would own a place to sell flowers is entirely expected," Wymond said, "it's the fact it's being sold for one _dollar_ instead of one _Gil_ that just seems odd."


	39. Breaking the Rules

**Chapter 39**

**Breaking the Rules**

Wymond and Snake approached the stand. The thing looked like it was about to fall apart and the only thing keeping it together was the flowers…somehow. Whoever owned it wasn't there.

"Business must be slow," Snake commented, looking around the stand.

"Just taking a break," Wymond corrected, indicating a small sign that announced the owner would be back in a few minutes.

"You're sure this is your girl?" asked Snake.

"Ninety-nine point nine percent," Wymond replied.

"Close enough," Snake murmured.

Wymond looked around. The city began to get busier as time passed. There was no way to know when the owner had left, hence no way to know when she'd be back.

"Let's head over to that bench," Wymond suggested, indicating a bench a few feet away. "If we stand here like this she might get suspicious, she has many enemies."

Snake nodded and followed Wymond over to the bench, sitting down.

"So who is this girl?" asked Snake.

"Someone Sam sent here to protect her from the Cetra," Wymond replied.

"Protect her from your people?" asked Snake.

"She is Cetra as well," Wymond said grinning.

Snake chuckled, "Politics."

"I see you are familiar with such situations," Wymond commented.

"You have no idea," Snake growled.

"Sam broke the rules sometime ago; he allowed her and another to come here to live. It was against many rules set by the Cetra, though that kind of thing never really bothered Sam. Just recently, many Cetra have been sent out to find her and bring her back to where she belongs. However, Sam made this place quite inaccessible," Wymond said.

"What about the guys in the bar?" asked Snake.

Wymond nodded, "It's impossible to keep them out entirely. It has taken them this long, though. The men in the bar, the Sigurds, were here to find her, but even though they'd found the right existence, they still couldn't find her specifically. Sam made everything to work against those who seek her."

"She have a name? Or is there a reason you're just using the pronoun?" asked Snake.

"Ask her yourself, you're about to meet her," Wymond said, standing up.

Snake looked across at the stand. The owner had returned. All they could confirm at their distance was that the occupant was a woman. They approached, and Snake let Wymond lead, assuming she would recognize the Cetra. Then again, if she played video games, she might recognize him, too. They stopped in front of the stand, the woman looked at them, "Can I help you?"

Wymond smiled pleasantly, "No, just looking."

Snake looked at the woman, and then at Wymond. Maybe this was some kind of code to let her know it was really him.

"Looking for something in particular?" asked the woman.

Wymond stopped looking at the flowers, and then at the woman, "Well, possibly, I'll take anything that comes in pink."

The woman nodded and turned to do something behind her. Snake looked on in confusion, wondering if he'd missed something significant, a codeword.

"Is that her?" asked Snake, quietly.

Wymond shook his head, "She's a decoy, I believe my friend has already encountered some enemies and is in deeper hiding than I assumed. However, this stand would not be here unless it was a means to get to her."

"Or maybe it's just a stand that sells flowers," suggested a voice behind the two.

Snake discreetly went for his gun as he turned to look at the speaker; Wymond appeared to know the man who spoke.

"Things are rarely so simple," Wymond said, turning to face the man.

Snake got a good look at the speaker, waiting to see if he was a threat. He wore black pants and a similar coloured coat not that different from the one Snake currently wore. The most noticeable feature on the speaker was his blonde, spiked, hair.

"I see she's finally given up the flower thing to someone else," Wymond said.

Cloud shrugged, "She'd be out here herself, but there just seems to be too many people who have something against flowers."

"How many Sigurd?" asked Wymond.

"Five or six, maybe more, I lost count," Cloud replied. "We take care of them enough so that they can't send information to others, but they still seem to find this existence. I don't think it's as safe as Sam wanted it to be, not now anyways."

"I agree, my friend and I met a few on our way here," Wymond informed.

"We can handle ourselves, question is why are you here?" asked Cloud.

"We've run into some setbacks, we need backup, Aeris was the only person I could think of," Wymond said.

Cloud nodded, "Saw this coming, Aeris caught wind about some kind of parasite and figured you guys were probably fighting it."

"Yes, we were, but I'm afraid it won't be so easily killed," Wymond said, "where is Aeris, it is urgent we speak to her."

Cloud began to say something, but paused as he noticed Snake, "Aren't you from a video game?"

Snake looked at Wymond, then back at Cloud, "That's what I hear."

Cloud, too, looked at Wymond, "I suppose I've seen stranger things, follow me."

The two followed Cloud along a very intricate path through the city. This was obviously a route intended to confuse anyone following him. They cut through alleyways and even through some buildings with doors that had broken locks. Finally, they arrived at what appeared to be the front door of an apartment. Cloud put his hand on the front door for a moment and then stepped back. After waiting a moment he stepped forward and opened the door, they stepped through.

"What the hell?" muttered Snake.

They definitely weren't inside an apartment building. It looked like the inside of a mansion. The place was huge and appeared to have a second floor, also.

"Sam set this up," Cloud said, "apparently everyone else who walks in enters an apartment building. Aeris and I seem to get this, not quite sure how he did it, but the guy always did have some strange tricks."

"Not bad," Wymond commented.

"Are they here?" asked a voice coming down from above.

"Yeah, Wymond and Snake," Cloud said.

A woman came down a staircase in a pink get up that appeared familiar to Wymond, and very old fashioned to Snake.

"Snake?" asked Aeris, looking at him. "Like the video game?"

Snake muttered something inaudible, and most likely unpleasant.

"Complicated," Wymond said.

"Fair enough," Aeris replied, "only you two came?"

"Well, no, Vincent is around…somewhere," Wymond shrugged.

"What about Samael?" asked Aeris. "Is he working on fighting off that parasite I've been hearing about?"

Wymond and Snake both hesitated, not entirely sure how to explain their situation.

"What's wrong?" asked Cloud.

"The parasite, we think…" Wymond trailed off for a moment, "…we think it killed Sam."

Cloud looked at them blankly, "What?"

"There's no real proof he's dead," Snake added. "But he got hit by a wave of the stuff."

"Sorin, I'm sure, is working on a method of finding out, one way or another," Wymond said.

"Sorin?" asked Cloud.

"Sorin Tether?" asked Aeris.

Wymond nodded, "He's the one who's been keeping Sam out of trouble."

Aeris nodded, "That's like him, if anyone can figure it out, it's Sorin."

"Unfortunately, just Sorin alone is not enough, we need your help," Wymond said. "I've been contacting you through the water in the City of the Ancients and you've known things that Sorin could only guess at. I'm afraid just being an informant won't be good enough. We've already lost Sam to this virus, as well, this means we have only one person who can jump existences effortlessly. We need you for that as well. Sam's replacement, if you will."

Aeris looked on sadly, "It's odd I didn't sense it, he didn't return to the Lifestream."

Wymond shrugged, "Who knows what happened to him when he was touched by the virus. In any case, we can't save him and he can't help us. Our only option is to destroy the parasite, if we can. Cloud, we need all the strength we can muster, if you don't mind coming along."

Cloud nodded, "Let me get my sword."

"When do we leave?" asked Aeris.

"_Wymond, we've got problems_," Vincent's voice cut into the conversation through Wymond's earpiece, and Snake's as well.

"What is it?" asked Wymond.

"_At least ten Sigurd are moving on your location, they didn't follow you, but they know you're in there, somehow. You need to leave, now_," Vincent ordered.

Wymond looked at Aeris and Cloud, "Get what you need to get, Snake and I will go out and welcome our visitors."


	40. She's Back

**Chapter 40**

**She's Back **

Sorin ran end to end, covering the area of the entire ship. Onlookers might have compared him with a chicken missing its head. Of course, one did not compare a Cetra to a decapitated chicken…generally.

"Where the hell is Wymond?" asked Sorin again. The question went unanswered so many times that Sorin almost deemed it necessary to answer himself.

"Vincent and Snake are missing, too," Fox McCloud added.

"We're trying to fight an enemy we're not sure we can even kill, and they're off running around?" growled Sorin.

"Assuming they didn't leave for recreational purposes, I'd say they're probably the only ones currently doing anything about said enemy," Fox mentioned.

Sorin went to shoot back at Fox, but realized the pilot was right. Of course Wymond wouldn't teleport anyone away for the hell of it, Sorin knew Wymond.

"Look, we're all feeling it," Fox said, leaning against a wall. "I barely knew Sam, and yeah, it sucks. I realize you and he were probably very good friends, and that's affecting your judgment, but if we're gonna do something we should get up and do it."

"You're right, of course you're right," Sorin muttered. "Let's get to the bridge; Cid can probably get in contact with Wymond using the communications."

The two did just that, and found Cid at the controls, way ahead of them.

"Been tryin' to get ahold of one of those missin' guys, so far nothin'," Cid said. "We just gonna leave Tifa sittin' in that room of hers all the livelong day?"

Sorin looked at the wall to his left; somewhere past there, Tifa was sitting in a room silently. They were all affected, as Fox mentioned, but she took it the hardest. If she wasn't ready to come out on her own then Sorin wasn't willing to try to convince her.

"If it takes that long, yes," Sorin said. "Finding Wymond and the others should be priority. Every Cetra that ever existed is probably in a frenzy right now, and they'll be easy targets if they don't know what they're doing."

"I would think that at least Wymond would know that," Fox said. "Why do you think they left, for what?"

Sorin shook his head, "No way to know for sure. He may have gone to try to find someone who could replace Sam, someone as adept, or close, in the way of existence jumping."

"Like who?" asked Fox.

Sorin shrugged, "I'm sure Wymond knows a lot of people like that."

"Probably not many that'd be on our side right now," Cid murmured.

Sorin nodded his agreement, "True."

"What about that contact of his?" asked Cid. "The one he always goes to talk to."

Sorin thought about that for a moment, "It's logical, but dangerous, as he would reveal her position."

"Who is this contact anyways?" asked Cid.

Sorin didn't answer for a moment as he ran options through his head. It was a good a place as any to start.

"Cid, get the Shera ready to fly, I'm taking us to the contact," Sorin said.

Cid shrugged, "Better than sittin' 'round here."

"If you're wrong about this what kind of trouble are we in?" asked Fox.

"No more than usual I suppose," Sorin replied.

"Great," Fox growled.

§§

Ten Sigurd in dark clothing placed themselves strategically around the door to the apartment. Weapons weren't drawn, but they were more than ready.

The door swung open slowly and all manner of blades were drawn and put at the ready.

A small object rolled down the steps and stopped in the general area of the group. The Sigurd, not knowing exactly what to expect, simply stared at it, trying to decipher what it might be.

Clearly, it was a threat.

Suddenly, a white smoke began to pour out of it and starting building up very thick. The Sigurd, realizing their lack of vision in the smoke, started backing up quickly.

"Can't believe that worked," Snake said to Wymond as they stood behind the barely open door. "All the old tricks are new again."

"This shouldn't take long," Wymond said.

It didn't. Snake and Wymond blew through the doorway, Snake firing his pistol and Wymond finding enemies with his sword. By the time they were done and the wind had cleared the smoke grenade's effects there were only three very confused Sigurd left.

"You know, if we fight these guys anywhere but here, they won't be nearly this easy," Wymond commented.

Snake casually shot the farthest right-hand Sigurd, he hit the ground, "Too bad."

A crimson figure fell from nowhere and landed silently behind the remaining two Cetra just as they were about to formulate some kind of counterattack. He jabbed his golden claw into the right-hand Sigurd's back. The last Sigurd spun and swung his sword at Vincent, who ducked under it and fired Cerberus directly into the Sigurd's stomach. Both were down in seconds.

"Then again, I'm not sure these guys will ever be a problem for Vincent," Wymond muttered, rolling his eyes.

Cloud and Aeris exited the apartment with their weapons in hand. Snake looked at Cloud for a moment and then back at Wymond, "What's up with the sword?"

Wymond shrugged, "It does look a little big doesn't it?"

Snake shook his head, "You guys seem to like to exaggerate things a bit sometimes."

"I think we should be leaving," Vincent said, holstering Cerberus and walking toward them.

"Friendly as ever, I see," Aeris commented. "Good to see you Vincent."

Vincent nodded back.

"Alright, so we have what we came for, as Vincent suggested, let's leave," Wymond said. "I'll take us back to the Shera, and then we can—"

Wymond was interrupted by the sound of distant screaming. It didn't quite come across as the kind of screaming you might hear from an amusement park on a rollercoaster or something like that. And as they got louder and more frequent, he was compelled to look to the sky for the answer. He found it.

"Aeris, Cloud," Wymond said, still looking up, "I'd like you to meet the parasite you've heard so much about."

Everyone looked to the sky.

"Damn," Snake growled, "it's here."

Indeed, the same silver formation they'd seen previously was present above them in the sky.

"Come, we have much to discuss," Wymond said.

"We're just gonna let this thing kill the planet?" asked Cloud incredulously.

Wymond nodded, "I'm afraid we have no other option."

Cloud shook his head, "We can figure it out, we can fight this thing."

"I realize the enemy looks simple enough, but we're not dealing with any regular enemy. And we're not even sure this parasite is our only problem," Wymond said. "Our only option is to find the Shera."

"Big sword guy here is right," Snake put in. "The people back on the ship don't know any better than we do. Putting our heads together, we'll just have a larger group of people who have no idea what to do."

"I agree," Vincent said. "We would probably do more damage here."

"When did we start letting this kind of thing happen without trying to stop it?" asked Cloud. "We'd never let this thing destroy an entire planet of people without even trying before."

"And I suppose some of us are no less suicidal than before," Vincent muttered.

"Come on, I know somewhere where we can get a better look at what we're dealing with, follow me," Aeris said, running down the street.

Wymond muttered, "I suppose I should've seen this coming."

"Throwing ourselves at enemies is a common theme," Vincent replied. "I just hope Aeris has an idea because I don't think throwing sticks at this creature is going to be effective."


	41. Connection

**Chapter 41**

**Connection**

The place Aeris had taken them was indeed a very good vantage point. They had a full view of the sky, and in turn, a full view of the silver parasite that loomed overhead.

"How long?" asked Cloud.

Wymond shook his head, "As I told you, this creature is, essentially Jenova. It has its own mind, it attacks when it wants."

"So we can see it, now what?" asked Snake.

"We're on top of the Empire State Building," Wymond shrugged, "I say we enjoy the scenery because it's all about to become very silver soon."

"Don't be so negative," Aeris scowled.

"Dear, we can't fight this thing, not with what we have," Wymond said, sounding as if he was apologizing. "We can do nothing."

Aeris shook her head.

"Alright, what the hell is that?" asked Snake, pointing off to their right.

In the sky, there was a large airship. To a normal person it may have appeared to be just a large plane, but Wymond knew better.

"Oh, for…" Wymond muffled a curse, "…are we done playing around here, because now we _really_ need to leave!"

"What is it?" asked Snake.

"The hunters," Wymond said.

"Those guys from Sorin's story?" asked Snake.

Wymond nodded, "That would be Shar's airship."

"Shar?" asked Aeris.

"If the Sigurd caught wind that you're here they definitely know the hunters are here, meaning there's going to be double the Sigurd here in all of about five minutes," Wymond said. "Remember before? When I mentioned Jenova might not be our only problem? This is what I meant."

"Shar was obsessed with destroying this Jenova thing, though, wasn't he?" asked Snake.

Wymond muttered something and then spoke up, "Look, there's a lot you all don't know and lot I can explain, but we don't have time right now, we need to leave."

Aeris looked up reluctantly at the silver parasite, "Alright."

"Good, I'll get us back to—" Wymond was cut off by Vincent.

"Wymond," Vincent said.

The guardian closed his eyes for a moment and then looked at Vincent, "What?"

"The Shera's here," Vincent replied.

Everyone looked to their left and saw the familiar ship entering the atmosphere.

"How did they find us?" asked Cloud.

"Sorin," Wymond said, "he guessed, but he guessed right."

"_Hey, guys, this is Cid, come in_," said Cid's voice. Only Vincent, Snake, and Wymond had earpieces to hear him.

"Cid, could you tell Sorin that I have what I came for and that we need to be picked up very fast, please?" asked Wymond.

"_Well, I can handle the picking up part, I see ya, why don't you explain the rest once you get on,_" Cid replied, the Shera moved toward them.

Snake looked across at the black airship that belonged to the hunters. It was moving toward the Shera, "Hey, I think that ship's coming for us."

Wymond looked at the hunter ship puzzled, "Why would Shar do that? Jenova's right above him."

"Maybe his priorities are different," Snake muttered.

"No, it means he knows," Wymond said.

"Knows what?" asked Snake.

"Get on the ship and I'll tell you," Wymond replied as the Shera pulled up within range to get on. They were all on the outer platform within seconds; the hunter ship was getting very close.

The group blew through the door into the ship. Sorin and Fox were walking toward them.

"Sorin, Shar knows," Wymond said immediately.

Sorin paused, "So then it's him."

"What's going on?" asked Cloud.

"Shar always believed that Jenova's connection to the world was through the Cetra, and in a sense he would be correct," Sorin explained. "However, what he didn't understand before was that Jenova could only connect through _living_ Cetra. Cetra like Sam, Wymond, and I still have connections directly to the Lifestream, meaning we aren't technically alive."

"As soon as Jenova killed Aeris it must have realized its mistake," Vincent put in.

Sorin nodded, "Hate to downgrade what you all did, but let's face it, Jenova's cause died as soon as she killed Aeris."

Cloud shook his head, "What about Meteor?"

"Isolated incident, anyone could have done that, it was a last ditch effort on Jenova's part," Wymond said.

"Aeris is dead, how can Jenova be doing what it's doing now?" asked Vincent.

Sorin shrugged, "She's not dead."

"She's no more alive than you or Wymond," Vincent said.

"In fact, she is," Sorin replied. "Wymond and I are simply small paradoxes, Aeris was _resurrected_."

"The black building," Cloud muttered.

Sorin nodded, "As far as we know it was the only contraption that ever existed that was capable of actually bringing back Cetra."

"This is happening because of me," Aeris said quietly. "Sam's dead because of me."

Sorin went to say something, but words were caught in his throat.

"So as long as she's alive we can't kill it?" asked Snake, breaking the silence.

Wymond shook his head, "That's just what Shar thinks. He didn't show up here to get Jenova, he's here for Aeris."

For the first time, everything was starting to come together. Jenova was appearing because of the paradox created by Aeris' continuing to exist. The resurrection of Aeris brought Wymond along with her, but he wasn't resurrected because a guardian is always connected with the Lifestream just as Sorin was. Shar, returning from wherever, discovered that Aeris was somehow alive and that she was causing the return of his sworn enemy. His sense of twisted justice intact, Shar gathered his hunters and began the search for Aeris.

It only left one question to be asked.

"So who's responsible for the Bane of the Cetra?" asked Vincent. "Jenova or Shar?"

Sorin shook his head, "I don't know, but Shar's airship is coming toward us, why don't we ask him?"

With that, they moved for the bridge. Once they entered, they saw the large black ship in the front viewing area.

"It's been sitting there for about a minute now," Cid reported.

"What's he waiting for?" asked Snake.

The airship opened fire, bullets rippled the front armour of the Shera and the ship trembled.

"He was aiming," Vincent growled.

Cid threw the Shera into a tight left turn that would put them in line to move around the hunter airship. He intended to let his missiles fly while he was flying right beside the hunters.

"Cid, how long you think before you could put a hole in that ship?" asked Sorin.

"Ten, maybe twenty, seconds," Cid replied.

"Whatever you're planning Sorin, it's gonna have to wait," Wymond said, "Jenova's making her move."

The silver from the parasite began entering through the atmosphere and landing on the taller buildings, silver spread from there.

"Damn," Sorin muttered, "Cid, throw everything you've got at Shar and get us outta here!"

Cid nodded and did as asked. The Shera shot forward and simultaneously fired a volley of missiles. At point blank range, none missed. The Shera was particularly good at hit and runs. The airship shot past the hunter ship and angled up toward the sky.

The silver stuff seemed as if it was catching on to the air and coming toward them. Jenova was somehow manipulating the air particles to carry the parasite.

"It's definitely not friendly with us," Fox muttered.

"Cid, can we move faster than the silver is spreading?" asked Sorin.

Cid hit some buttons and the ship started moving faster, eventually the engines were going so hard the entire ship rocked violently.

"It's gonna be close!" yelled Cid, finally answering Sorin's question.

The Shera exploded straight up with incredible speed, but the silver floating on the air moved equally fast…but not quite. The Shera had an edge: Cid was a better pilot than Jenova.

It seemed as if the silver would make a sort of roof over them and they would run into it, but Cid had another idea.

"Hang on to something!" Cid yelled and fired the ship's guns, effectively blowing a hole right through the silver blanket. The debris from the explosions rocked the ship but they easily made it through, and clear into space.

Everyone looked through the front viewing area with a sigh of relief.

Vincent took a few steps forward to look at the silver parasite, "We really need to find a way to kill this thing."


	42. The Relatively New Plan

--alright, so I'm back, been a while, 'nuf said.

**Chapter 42**

**The Relatively New Plan**

Vincent Valentine looked around the bridge of the Shera. They had lost one and gained two. Minus a Sam, plus a Cloud and Aeris, one might consider that a sort of victory. A better way of looking at it as opposed to just a simple loss, but even with the extra addition of minds there was still apparently no ideas on how to take care of their problem.

"Tried that," Sorin said in a dead voice.

People had been suggesting courses of action for the last two hours, and Sorin had shot down every idea without fail. Either they wouldn't work, or it'd been tried and didn't work. Nothing was working.

"We gotta find someone who actually knows something about this thing," Snake growled, leaning against a wall. "Guessing is getting us nowhere."

"Who?" asked Cloud. "I was under the impression no one has ever seen this thing before."

"What about the hunters?" asked Aeris. "They're enemies of this thing, maybe they know."

"If they do, they probably won't help us," Sorin replied.

"And if they don't, then they're likely dead on the last planet we left them on," Fox added.

"Damn," Snake muttered.

"Sam would know," said a female voice off to the side, everyone looked.

Tifa stood in the entrance to the bridge.

"Tifa," Aeris said, smiling, "I heard you were around."

Tifa nodded fleetingly at Aeris and Cloud, and then returned to what she was saying, "Sam could find a way."

"He always did have a way of getting to the bottom of things like this, better than me," Sorin agreed.

"Maybe the key to all this isn't simply killing the parasite," Fox said. "Maybe we need to find a way to get your friend back."

"I hate to be blunt about this, but isn't that guy dead?" asked Snake, he didn't notice the sudden look of pain on Tifa's face after he said it.

"Not necessarily," Sorin replied. "There's no way to know for sure."

"Getting someone out of the parasite sounds as hopeless as trying to kill it," Fox muttered.

"It is," Snake growled.

"Assuming he isn't dead," Cloud went on, "how do you think we would even go about getting him out?"

Sorin shrugged, "I don't know."

"Do we know if he was absorbed into Jenova directly?" asked Vincent, speaking up for the first time.

Sorin looked to the man in a dark corner, "Why?"

"I'd be more interested in _where_ we have to extract him from, as opposed to _how_," Vincent replied.

Sorin nodded slowly, "Right, of course, we may not even have to get near the main entity."

"How's that?" asked Cloud.

"Generally, with parasites of this type, when it infects a planet like it did, the substance that disconnects is not directly linked with the main entity. Meaning it becomes a thing in itself, a sub-parasite, if you will."

Snake looked around; everyone appeared to understand what he was talking about.

"I'm not sure I get it either," Fox said indirectly to Snake.

"Unless Jenova recollected the silver stuff from the planet, it's logical to think that maybe Sam has been absorbed into the planet itself," Sorin finished.

"Could he survive it?" asked Vincent.

"I would think so," Aeris replied. "Returning to the planet is kinda the Cetra trademark."

"Hell of a way to go about it," Snake muttered.

"So we go back to Smash Bros. planet, and then what? Dig him out?" asked Fox.

"We know the substance is vulnerable to weapons, it dispersed when hit," Wymond added. "Maybe all we have to do is create enough of a wound to open up and let us in."

"And get ourselves trapped inside with him?" asked Snake.

"I can wait outside and blow you guys a new door," Cid said.

Wymond gestured to Cid, "We have our key, now only to find the right door."

"Cid, ready the Shera, we're going back," Sorin said.

§§

The Shera appeared as soon as it had gone, and now orbited the once very bright planet. The silver substance that had consumed Sam still covered the entire sphere.

"Jenova didn't recollect," Wymond said.

"Either she doesn't need it back, or she doesn't care," Cloud murmured.

They all stared, somewhat mesmerized by the silvery sight.

"Someone's already here," Vincent said, breaking the silence.

"What?" asked Cloud.

Vincent pointed instead of explaining, and they saw what he saw. A large hole in the silver covering the planet, it was off to the far right, and looked to have been blown open forcibly.

"Wow," Aeris muttered.

"How did we not see the hole before Vincent mentioned it?" asked Snake.

Everyone looked at him.

"It's a big hole," Snake said.

"Who made it, I wonder?" Aeris said thoughtfully. "Who would have a reason to come back here?"

"Hunters?" asked Vincent.

"Possibly," Wymond said, "maybe they're looking for clues on how to destroy the main entity."

"If there are in fact hunters down there…or any enemy, it's going to be doubly dangerous with the silver substance also," Sorin said, getting to business. "I'm not willing to endanger too many of us if this doesn't work."

"Vincent and I," Cloud said, "we'll report back with what we see."

Vincent looked at Cloud for a moment, and then shrugged.

"Take Wymond, he can teleport you back to us quickly if necessary," Sorin said.

Wymond nodded.

"I should go," Aeris said, "if we find—"

"Three's enough," Cloud said, "if something goes wrong we want to cut our losses."

"Once a hero always a hero," Sorin said, "I suppose that should be comforting."

Aeris just looked worried, "Be careful." She said to Cloud.

Cloud nodded and looked to Vincent and Wymond, "Ready?"

Vincent checked Cerberus and followed the Cetra and Cloud. The three left the bridge and headed down a corridor.

"So what's the new plan now?" asked Cloud, walking between Wymond and Vincent.

"We check out the planet, see who our enemies and friends are, then we find a way to defeat the silver substance and save Sam," Wymond replied.

"Our original plan was to find a way to defeat the silver substance," Vincent said.

"Okay," Wymond said, "it's a relatively new plan."

"If you teleport us into that hole, how do you know where we're gonna land?" asked Cloud.

Wymond shook his head, "I'm only for teleporting you back."

Cloud looked at the guardian curiously, "How're we getting there?"

Vincent stepped ahead of the other two and suddenly changed into his alter ego, Chaos. The yellow-eyed creature turned to look at the others.

"We're flying," Wymond said, gesturing to Chaos.

"Through space?" asked Cloud.

Chaos unfurled his wings, "We'll be going so fast, you won't notice."


	43. Downed Ship

**Chapter 43**

**Downed Ship**

A red streak was all that was visible passing from the Shera to the hole in the silver substance. The incredibly fast entity appeared to spend only a moment in the darkness of open space before it was gone from sight altogether.

Indeed, only after a moment, Chaos came to a halt inside the atmosphere of the planet. He hovered a few feet off the ground holding Cloud in his left hand, and Wymond in his right.

"Planet's still entirely covered," Chaos said.

"It does appear to have hardened somewhat, but we can't be sure of the danger," Wymond added.

"That's fine," Chaos replied indifferently, "we don't have to touch the ground anyways."

"I don't see anyone that might have made the hole," Cloud put in.

Wymond nodded, "I would have thought we'd have seen some trace of the intruders. Chaos, fly Cloud straight ahead if you will, I'll go in the opposite direction and see if we can see anything."

"So your theory is go north, go south, and hope there's no one at east or west?" asked Chaos.

"Do you dislike my theory?" asked Wymond.

"I'm not entirely thrilled by it," Chaos replied.

"Lovely, because enjoyment was never part of the equation," Wymond said, shaking free of Chaos and floating on his own in the air, "now, we should report in around five minutes from now. Should you find something, try not to move too far, or at least wait for me to get back to you."

"Be careful," Cloud said.

"And you," Wymond replied, and floated away from them.

Both parties went in different directions, and for the most part found nothing during their ventures. The planet had simply become a wasteland of blank silver. The only thing for miles upon endless miles was silver.

"If there were something out there we'd be able to see it for days," Cloud said.

"Agreed, whoever came here is likely gone," Chaos replied.

"_Chaos, Cloud, can you hear me_?" asked Wymond through their earpieces.

"Did you find something, Wymond?" asked Cloud.

"_Most definitely, do a one-eighty and head straight, you'll run into me_," Wymond replied.

Cloud looked at Chaos, "Maybe they're still here."

"I was sincerely hoping they wouldn't be," Chaos growled, and turned around to head back.

Chaos and Cloud came across Wymond floating out in the middle of the silver wasteland that had become the planet. There was nothing unusual around him. Chaos pulled up beside the Cetra.

"I've been around you too long to assume you were hallucinating and have actually found nothing," Chaos said, "so get to the point, what are we not seeing?"

"This," Wymond said, and kicked forward with his foot. His boot connected with something solid. The impact sounded metallic.

"There's something there," Cloud muttered.

"No question," Wymond said, rubbing his forehead, "I ran into the bastard."

"A cloaked vessel perhaps?" asked Chaos.

Wymond shrugged, "That's my guess, but if I hit it, you would think the crew would've noticed me. There's been no reaction to me at all."

"Well, let's uncloak it," Chaos said.

"Words into action, my friend," Wymond said, backing away from the invisible obstruction.

Chaos backed off also, and handed Cloud to Wymond. He drew Death Penalty and aimed it in the direction of the invisible object.

"We might wanna move back more," Cloud warned.

Wymond did so immediately, "Cover your face."

Chaos fired. The powerful weapon blasted into what appeared to be thin air. Instead of continuing, as it should have, the weapon hit something solid and erupted into a devastating explosion. One shot was enough. No surprise, considering the weapon and the user, in the end, Death Penalty left what appeared to be a jagged hole floating in the air. Inside the hole was what appeared to be the corridor of an airship.

"Cloaked vessel," Cloud observed, "you called it Vincent."

"Lead the way," Wymond offered, and Chaos did so.

The three set down inside the ship's corridor and looked around.

"This is a hunter vessel," Wymond said immediately.

"It's that obvious?" asked Cloud.

"I've seen this kind of thing before, many times," Wymond replied. "Hunters are not the types to ignore a possible intruder. If there were any hunters on this ship, they would've investigated my presence."

"So they blew a hole, landed here, were unaffected by the silver stuff, and left?" asked Cloud.

"Or were killed by another entity," Wymond offered.

Chaos moved forward, walking down the corridor to the first door to his left.

"Not that one," Wymond said, "go up two more, which should lead to the elevator."

Chaos did so, and found that Wymond was right. They boarded the elevator and Wymond hit the button that brought them to the bridge. The doors opened to reveal a short corridor that led to a large black door. Wymond hit another large button to the side, and the door slid open.

The bridge wasn't that different from the Shera's bridge. Similar layout, same idea with the large front viewing area, a few of the lights were operating, but the ones that weren't were compensated by the light that came in through the front viewing area. This left some dark shadowy areas in different places on the bridge.

"Deserted," Cloud said. His voice seemed very loud in the silent area.

"No sign of any kind of battle," Chaos commented.

"Maybe they did just leave," Cloud shrugged.

A quiet hissing noise suddenly was audible, and it appeared to be coming from their left.

"You hear that?" asked Cloud. It sounded like an angry cat.

"Where's it coming from?" asked Wymond.

Chaos pointed a silver-clawed finger to one of the shadowy areas on the bridge, "There."

They all turned to look.

"There's something there," Wymond said, putting a hand on the hilt of his blade.

Something began to emerge from the darkness. It appeared to walk upright, appeared humanoid, but its features were still uncertain in the dark.

Chaos drew Death Penalty and aimed.

The creature came into full view. The light allowed them to see the figure.

"Mario," Wymond muttered in shock.

"Who?" asked Cloud.

It was indeed the familiar Nintendo character. He still donned the hat with the distinguishable M, but it wasn't red. In fact, he was devoid of all colours. He was now a shade. He was silver.

"Mario, are you alright?" asked Wymond, ready to draw his weapon.

The only response was a familiar hiss from the silver Mario.

"He's not Mario anymore," Chaos growled.

Mario let out an ear-splitting scream and charged at them. Chaos slashed the creature with his silver-clawed hand and sent it flying back against a control panel. Mario regained his footing; the claw marks were visible across his face. Then, miraculously, the slashes were filled in with silver, like glue, and sealed up.

"It healed itself," Cloud said.

Mario charged mindlessly at them again, and Chaos backhanded Mario into the same control panel.

"Are you enjoying this?" Chaos growled at Mario. Mario hissed an angry response and charged again. Chaos effortlessly responded by tossing the creature back into the control panel.

"You're right," Wymond said to Chaos, "he's not Mario anymore. It appears the silver substance absorbed him, and then turned him into some kind of mindless henchman."

"She's building an army," Chaos said, smashing Mario into the control panel yet again.

"Imagine the force Jenova would have after infecting a few more planets," Cloud said shaking his head.

"Luckily, it appears that once you become a silver creature you don't retain any of your previous abilities," Wymond said. "Mario here hasn't thrown one fireball."

Mario flew into the control panel again.

"Can I kill it now?" asked Chaos.

"Go ahead," Wymond replied.

Chaos fired Death Penalty, the shot hit Mario square in the chest and immediately the silver creature was incinerated. There was no trace of the creature afterward.

"That would explain the lack of a sign of struggle," Cloud said. "The hunters probably killed a bunch of these things, the surviving hunters abandoned the useless ship, and the dead were likely absorbed into the silver substance somehow."

"No trace, meaning either everyone's dead, or there're hunters out there somewhere," Wymond said.

"We also should consider another thing," Chaos said.

Cloud and Wymond looked at him.

Chaos gestured outside, "Somewhere out there, roaming around, are more of these creatures. And one of them is going to be Sam."


	44. Inhabitants

**Chapter 44**

**Inhabitants**

Wymond, Cloud, and Chaos headed out of the bridge with haste. Assuming there were more creatures like the dead Mario, sticking around was probably a very bad idea. They needed to warn the Shera of the apparent danger, and that the apparent danger might come in the form of Sam.

They exited through the same hole they used to enter, but stopped just at the edge to check out their surroundings.

"Hard to believe there's actually anything out there," Cloud said, looking around.

"Nothing in the sense of human most likely," Wymond muttered.

"Does he count?" asked Chaos. He pointed a clawed finger at a grey-clad form lying on the ground.

Cloud's eyes widened, "He wasn't there before."

"That's not a hunter," Wymond said. "Whoever he is, he must've tried to return to the ship."

Chaos hopped down from the ship to the silver ground. He landed on a solid surface, and nothing tried to consume him. Obviously, the substance's absorbing properties were short-lived.

Realizing it was safe, Wymond and Cloud jumped to the ground as well. They walked over to the unmoving prone figure on the ground.

Wymond knelt down beside the man, "He's dead."

"What happened to him?" asked Cloud.

Wymond responded by turning the body over on to its back. The man's face was a mess, or more like there was actually no face at all. It appeared to have been either clawed, or chewed, into near nothingness. There was no way to make out any features, as the face was mostly just a mass of open wounds and blood.

"Wonder if the inhabitants are friendly," Cloud said sarcastically.

Wymond looked around, "I think we're about to find out."

Chaos nodded, "There's someone else here."

Cloud moved a hand toward his sword, "I would assume this guy didn't walk here looking like that."

"So he was moved, or killed here," Chaos added.

Wymond stood and readied his sword, "Keep your eyes open."

Ears worked better. The hiss was audible, and a creature stepped out from behind the ship.

It looked like Mario.

"I thought we just killed him," Cloud said.

Another hiss, and yet another creature appeared. It also looked like Mario.

"We did," Chaos growled. "There was more than one?"

A third identical creature hissed at them from above, standing on top of the ship.

"Well, that's odd," Wymond said.

"I have a different word for it," Cloud muttered, "but yeah."

A number of identical creatures began appearing around them.

"It's as if the substance managed to clone him multiple times," Wymond observed.

"We aren't going to be able to kill them all," Chaos said.

Wymond nodded, "I don't think there's a limit to them."

"If just Mario can be cloned an infinite number of times…" Cloud trailed off. Trying to imagine just how many enemies they currently had multiplied by how many they _could_ have was overwhelming.

"We need to leave," Chaos suggested. The number of creatures doubled.

"I'll transport us back," Wymond said, closing his eyes.

Nothing happened.

The creatures moved slowly toward them.

"Why aren't we leaving?" asked Chaos.

"It's not working," Wymond said, confused. "Something's blocking me out."

Chaos grabbed Cloud and Wymond, "Then I'll—"

"The hole's gone," Cloud cut Chaos off.

Wymond and Chaos looked to the sky. The hole in the silver substance they'd entered through was now entirely filled back up.

"Cid, Sorin, anybody, come in," Wymond yelled, trying to contact the Shera. "The hole's closed up, we need an opening!"

No response, the silver substance must be blocking communications.

"I can get through it," Chaos said.

Wymond shook his head, "I'm not sure you can."

Cloud looked at the guardian in confusion, "Why the hell not?"

"I'm sure the Shera has tried, I don't think anyone can really open it forcefully," Wymond replied. "We were allowed in, like the planet allowed this ship."

"A trap," Chaos agreed, "why?"

Wymond shrugged, "Doesn't matter, we won't survive long if we can't leave. These things could easily cover the entire planet, we can't kill them all."

The now very large mass of silver creatures approached. They still moved slowly. Maybe they had the capacity to be cocky, maybe they just wanted their prey to have a chance to run. It didn't matter.

Chaos aimed Death Penalty, "We blow through them, and then we find a way to kill the silver substance. Maybe we save Sam in the process, we do what we came here to do or we die."

"Not quite," Wymond said. "Cloud and I die; I don't think anything terrible will happen to you Vincent, you might get lonely after a while with us dead."

Cloud laughed, "Somehow I doubt it."

They planned to let the creatures come to them, and as they were about to make their move the closest creature suddenly exploded, and the creature beside that one did likewise. Systematically, creatures were being blown apart. It looked like some kind of firearm ammunition, like multiple little yellow projectiles running into the creatures before they blew apart.

They looked at Chaos.

"It's not me," he said shrugging.

Through the rain of limbs and body parts came the culprit of the attacks. The weapon was a medium sized shotgun-like contraption that appeared to have two barrels. One regular and another larger one set below it. There appeared to be some sort of small secondary trigger further up the barrel, which most likely was for firing the bottom barrel. The user of the weapon was clad in some sort of grey body armour and matching helmet. He also had some kind of facial armour that completely covered his face. Assuming it was a _he_ because there really was no way to tell.

The question of gender was answered when the figure yelled at Cloud, Wymond, and Chaos, "Get inside the ship!"

Though the voice was muffled, it was definitely that of a male.

Soon after, three other figures followed behind. One had similar gear as the first man with the shotgun, but the other two were dressed considerably different. They had only dark clothing and carried swords. One had two slightly curved blades, likely katanas, and the other had only a single straight blade. Wymond knew immediately what these two people were, without a doubt, they were Cetra, and they both had the bright green eyes of a Sigurd. As for the other two armoured men, Wymond had no clue. The second armoured man had a similar weapon to the first except that it appeared to be a machine gun instead of a shotgun. Aesthetically, however, they appeared the same.

One of the grey armoured men took a direct hit. One of the creatures slashed across his chest with its claws. The man staggered back a bit, but otherwise appeared unscathed.

"Get inside the ship!" yelled the first armoured man yet again as he headed for the ship, Sigurd and fellow armoured man in tow.

"Good as any place, I suppose," Wymond said, and ran for the ship. Chaos and Cloud followed.

The seven entered through the hole in the ship and one of the Sigurd turned back. He raised a hand and cast some sort of field over the hole. When the creatures tried to enter, they were blown back.

"We're safe for now," the first armoured man said, "but it won't take long for them to find a way in."

The Sigurd turned, and immediately recognized Wymond.

"What the hell're you doing here?" asked one Sigurd.

"Sightseeing, yourself?" asked Wymond.

"You know each other?" asked the armoured man.

"By profession only, he's a guardian. And associated with the man we came looking for, where's Sam?" asked the Sigurd.

"Sam's here," Wymond said, "somewhere."

"We looked all over, he isn't," the other Sigurd said.

"He was taken by the silver substance when it took over the planet, he's probably like one of the creatures outside," Chaos said.

"You mean Sam didn't return to the Lifestream?" asked Cloud.

The Sigurd looked at him, "No."

"Well, that means he's alive then, right?" asked Cloud.

Wymond paused for a moment, and then nodded, "Well, yes, logically, I suppose that's true."

"What's your story?" Chaos asked the armoured men.

"We were looking for you," the armoured man replied.

Chaos looked at him curiously.

"Well, not you specifically," the armoured man corrected, "all of you, and the Shera."

"Who are you?" asked Cloud.

The armoured man reached up and removed his helmet and facial armour. The first thing revealed was a head of somewhat unruly orange hair, and the face came next.

"Rufus?" Cloud asked, but confirmation was unnecessary. It was indeed Rufus Shinra.

"We managed to track the Shera's movement to this planet, but by the time we arrived it was like this and you were gone. We ran into these fine Cetra gentlemen here, and we've been running from these creatures since," Rufus explained.

"How'd you get here?" asked Cloud.

"We used this vessel," Rufus explained.

"How did you come across a hunter ship?" asked Wymond.

"The same reason we came to find you, these hunters as you call them have begun popping up in Centre Time, we were hoping you could do something about them, or at least know something," Rufus said.

"So who's that?" asked Chaos, referring to the other armoured fellow.

"The only member of SOLDIER still standing, the other five I brought were killed by the creatures outside," Rufus said. "This is James Masterson, soon to be the last SOLDIER anywhere if the hunter attacks continue as they are."

"James Masterson," Cloud said, "Outpost Seven."

"What?" asked Rufus.

Cloud shook his head, different existence, "Nothing."

"Why are the hunters attacking Centre Time, how did they get in?" asked Chaos.

Wymond shook his head, "Things have been very messed up lately, it's likely the locked door for Centre Time has been opened by accident."

"And you two?" asked Cloud, now to the Sigurd.

"We're just here for Sam," one said.

"Come on, we're all fighting to survive on the same silly planet, give us names," Wymond said.

The two Sigurd were silent for a moment, and then they spoke.

The one with the dual swords was called Ark, and the one with the straight blade was Kian.

"We may be here for different reasons, but we all have a very similar priority," Rufus said. "We need to destroy the creatures outside, and find a way to clear the silver substance from the planet. What happens after that happens after that."

"Fair enough," Ark said.

"Sounds good to me, what's the plan?" asked Cloud.

"Go outside and kill them all," Chaos suggested.

"Works for me," James growled, speaking for the first time.

Rufus raised his shotgun, "Shall we?"


	45. Restless Natives

**Chapter 45**

**Restless Natives**

The creatures outside gathered in the same fashion as your stereotypical zombie mob might. They gathered in a large group and pushed against the wall put up by the Sigurd to block the only opening into the ship. The small minds of the creatures only allowed for the thought process that by throwing as much weight as possible into the thing it might give in and open up for them. What they didn't know was that the Sigurd's wall could stand against such abuse for days, it could possibly keep them out for even weeks. A Cetra Sigurd was no simple being, if the silver creatures weren't infinite in numbers, the two Sigurd that now traveled with Rufus and James would easily defeat the silver army. This was a good thing, however, considering that they had that going for them, along with the fact they had a few other very hardened fighters with them.

Though Rufus and James were definitely the underdogs of the group, they were the first two jumping into the mass of enemies when the Sigurd's wall dropped.

Shinra technology never failed to impress.

What hits the silver creatures did land fell uselessly on the powerful armour. Enough hits and the armour would wear down, but Rufus and James didn't let the creatures have many free shots. Rufus's shotgun blew away four or five creatures at a time, and James's automatic rifle was just as effective. Rufus pulled the secondary trigger connected to the bottom barrel. The bigger sized bottom barrel let fly a jet of red energy akin to the power of Chaos's Death Penalty, though no amount of technology could really replicate that.

The energy beam blew through the ranks of creatures killing many of them, and then killing the ones behind them. James activated his own secondary weapon and it let fly a similar red beam with the same devastating effect.

Rufus's shotgun clicked…empty. Without missing a beat Rufus reached down and grabbed a pistol holstered to his right hip. He fired the sidearm with considerably less devastating ammunition, but he was still holding them back.

"I'm out," James growled.

"No time to reload; go to sidearm, then your blade if it comes to that," Rufus growled.

They both strapped their larger weapons over their backs and fired their pistols. The single shots were slower and allowed the creatures to gain some ground, but each shot the two took blew away a creature each, which was enough to keep them at a relatively safe distance.

Then both pistols were out of ammo. Both men pulled out colourful-bladed swords from scabbards on their free hips. The blades were multi-coloured, which seemed like a cosmetic factor to those who were unaware of what the colours signified.

The swords were made from custom-refined materia.

Rufus Shinra was never a man who was trained well in the art of the sword, which was why the materia blades were created for use by the most novice of blade users.

Swing and kill.

The sheer power of the materia-infused blade would simply break right through most defenses, and even shatter an opponent's blade itself. So even though James's well timed and skilled slashes and jabs were extremely powerful, Rufus's rough and random swinging was equally as deadly. They were swords for the unskilled.

Rufus's swings simply became him holding out the sword and spinning himself around like a top. Like a very deadly top, a deadly top that was slicing enemies in half at high speed in a constant three-sixty. However silly it may have seemed, Rufus's spinning method was doing more damage than James's trained attacks ever would now.

James ducked under the claw of an attacking silver creature and sliced another in half to his left. He came back to give a swift front kick to the previously attacking creature, staggering it back. James turned for a moment to backhand a creature approaching from behind, and then turned back to slash vertically. He chopped the creature in front perfectly down the centre from head to waist. The two halves fell to their respective sides and to the ground.

"They seem to be fine, let's run while they have them distracted," Cloud said.

"They are faring quite well, I agree," Wymond said. "They can't last forever, however. The faster we help them clear these guys out the better."

Ark and Kian ran past immediately with weapons drawn.

"That's the idea, follow them," Wymond said smiling, and drawing his own blade. He ran and joined the battle.

Cloud looked at Chaos.

"I'd just as soon stand and watch," Chaos said.

Cloud chuckled, "Liar."

Chaos lifted Death Penalty and jumped in with Cloud in tow.

Just Chaos alone warranted a massacre, but with two Sigurd it was silly…let alone having Cloud and Wymond.

The silver creatures were dispatched within minutes, and the remains melted back into the silver substance on the ground. It appeared as if there had never been any creatures there to begin with.

"It appears the supply of creatures has been exhausted for now," Ark commented, sheathing his blades.

"What now?" asked Cloud.

"Everything on this planet is simply silver as far as the eye can see, except for one place," Rufus said.

Ark and Kian nodded, they'd seen it too.

"Where?" asked Cloud.

"There is a black building a few miles from here, it appeared untouched by the silver substance," Kian explained.

"The black building," Wymond muttered. "Sorin always felt the building was important, but he never could figure out why. I remember the basement was said to have had a holding chamber for Jenova, maybe this place was made by Jenova for some reason."

"Let's go there and find out," Ark said, "I've already had enough of this place."

"Agreed," Chaos growled.

"Move at a quick pace, Chaos, you scout ahead and report back if you see something worth mentioning," Wymond said, and then looked to the Sigurd. "Sound like a plan?"

The two nodded.

"Lead on," Rufus said, gesturing to the expanse of silver ahead.

Chaos took flight and the group moved at a quick jog.

The black building wasn't far, but it would still take them at least thirty minutes to get there, and that's without any complications. Chaos, however, was at the building in a much more convenient time of approximately twenty seconds. He flew a good few meters away in case of any possible defense mechanisms. The place was obviously, somehow, significant, and significant things are generally defended.

Below the flying Chaos, on the roof of the black building stood a lone figure. His clothing was a simple black colour with silver lines scattered throughout. His skin appeared to have the same look to it. Though a normal complexion was still visible, the silver wisps gave him an unnatural look. The most disconcerting aspect of his appearance was the pair of blank, silver, eyes that stared out after the flying Chaos.

The dark, silvery, figure stepped forward to the edge of the roof. He seemed to nod to himself, as if making a decision, and said in an almost unnaturally gruff voice, "You first then, tall dark and shadowy."


	46. Remember

**Chapter 46**

**Remember**

The trek could only be described as extremely uninteresting. The only scenery happened to be endless silver, both in the sky and on the ground. All remains of life, grass, flowers, anything, had been smothered by Jenova's deadly substance and then hardened over. Not that anyone in the group was looking for nice scenery. The dark building looming ahead was enough for them.

"Where's Vincent?" asked Cloud.

Wymond looked to the sky, expecting to see their winged ally above, "Out of sight."

"He said he'd report back did he not?" asked Rufus.

"We'll wait here for a moment," Wymond said, "he might have seen something of interest and it's preoccupying him."

"I don't see anything that looks remotely like guards," Ark muttered.

"And you know what that means," Wymond said.

Both Sigurd nodded, Kian answered, "It's twice as dangerous as it looks."

"Or it's abandoned," Rufus added.

Wymond shrugged, "It could also be that."

"I'd feel better if Vincent came back and told us that directly," Cloud growled.

§§

Chaos had touched down behind the black building about ten minutes previously, so he was blocked from view for anyone who stood on the other side. A simple, yet odd, design flaw in the building had piqued the winged creature's interest.

The building had no doors. He knew the building, at one time, had doors, but not now, it was just a big black building that had no obvious means of entry.

"Silly, I know, no doors on a building," commented an oddly gruff, distorted, voice from behind.

Chaos spun and looked upon his visitor, recognizing him immediately, even through the odd silver additions to the man's appearance.

"Sam?" asked Chaos.

Sam stepped forward toward him, "Something like that."

Chaos was never one for pleasantries, "Whose side are you on?"

Sam smiled to reveal silver teeth, slightly sharper than the ones he remembered the Cetra having, "It's hard to tell, really, part of me is on yours. The other half, well, kinda feels like…Sephiroth, I guess."

"Which half is winning?" Chaos asked.

Sam laughed, "Not yours."

§§

"We've been here long enough," Ark said. "With or without Chaos, we need to make a move. The longer we wait, the longer Jenova has to attack us."

"Jenova's not here," Rufus said.

Ark rolled his eyes, "The silver stuff came off Jenova, literally, figuratively, whatever, you know what I mean!"

"He's right, we gotta move," Cloud said. "If Vincent's in trouble we can help him."

Wymond nodded, "I agree, but we should be cautious about how we—"

"Is that him?" asked James, pointing a gloved finger to the sky.

Everyone looked, indeed, it was Chaos, but his flight path didn't seem quite as controlled as it usually was.

"Something's wrong," Cloud muttered.

As Chaos got closer, the answer was obvious. Chaos wasn't flying, not in the sense of with his wings anyway, it was really more like _falling_.

Chaos's upward momentum gave out and he began to arc downward, right toward the group.

"I ain't gonna catch the thing," Kian said, stepping back.

"I got him," Cloud said, stepping forward, and trying to guess where exactly Chaos was going to land. After he calculated the general landing zone, Cloud moved there. Chaos was falling fast, but he wasn't coming down as fast as he would be were he actually in control. Cloud jumped up into the air and timed the fall with his jump perfectly.

It looked like an uncoordinated collision from below, however Cloud grabbed his friend smoothly from the fall, "Gotcha."

The two landed roughly on the ground, mostly because Chaos wasn't helping much to stay on his feet. Cloud set him on his back and looked over at the others, "He's unconscious."

Rufus looked at Wymond incredulously, "I honestly didn't think that was possible."

Wymond walked toward Cloud with a profoundly troubled look on his face, "Wake him up."

Cloud knelt down and shook Chaos lightly, "Hey, buddy, get up, you alright?"

Nothing, he was out cold.

"Not feeling quite as confident about that whole moving in on the building thing now," Kian murmured.

"The hell you think got him?" asked Cloud.

"Something with some very serious power," Wymond replied.

"If it can take out Vincent…" Cloud trailed off.

"Hey, over here, someone's coming," Rufus warned, training his shotgun on the approaching figure.

The person wasn't far off, maybe a meter or two. It raised a question in Wymond's mind, why was he only just noticed now. The silver landscape didn't allow for much obstruction, they should have been able to see him for miles.

"Who is it?" asked James, aiming his own rifle.

"I don't know, but he doesn't look—" Rufus didn't get to finish his observation. He, along with the SOLDIER beside him, were tossed up into the air and a few feet away to tumble to the ground.

Cloud drew his weapon, "What was that?"

"Telekinesis," Ark growled, drawing his own weapons, Kian did likewise.

"It's Sam," Wymond said, walking forward to meet the approaching Cetra.

When he saw him he knew who it was immediately, his face and stature were identical. The only difference was he looked a bit like his blood had been replaced with the same silver substance that covered the planet.

"Wymond," Sam said in greeting, coming to a stop in front of the guardian, "how many of my friends did you bring with you, Chaos?"

"Five," Ark said, eyes glowing green, "and two enemies."

"Two Sigurd, I'm honoured, I was only under the impression they'd send one," Sam smiled. "Like Shakira, you knew her, I gather? Unfortunate she had to die at the Golden Saucer, but it was her or me."

"Better you," Kian replied.

"To one opinion or another," Sam agreed.

"Jenova's puppet or not, we're here to take you back," Ark said. "You wouldn't come willingly even if you still had some sense, so let's finish this."

"By all means, after you," Sam said, and then looked to Wymond and Cloud. "I'll be with you two in a moment."

Ark and Kian attacked without any other unnecessary delay. They knew whom they were dealing with, and they had been Sigurd for a long time. Unfortunately, they'd never fought Sam before.

Both attacking Sigurd were frozen by Sam's telekinesis, but only for a moment, as both Sigurd were capable of cancelling out Sam's power. They continued their attack.

Suddenly, something that looked a bit like a silver tentacle shot out of the ground and threw Kian off his feet. The slithering arm-like creature managed to pick up the Sigurd's dropped blade and wield it against Ark. He was too busy fending off the armed tentacle to notice a second tentacle come up from behind and take his feet out from under him. The second tentacle picked up one of the Sigurd's blades.

"I'd like to thank you for the weapons, I'm afraid I'm short on actual blades now that everyone's dead," Sam said, he hadn't moved from his spot since the Sigurd attacked.

A third tentacle spawned and ripped Ark's second blade from his hand.

"And now you're unarmed," Sam said, "you failed, go home."

The tentacles mercilessly attacked both Sigurd, stabbing each simultaneously. The swords were retracted and both Sigurd dissipated into a green mist-like substance before they hit the ground.

"Back to the Lifestream," Sam said, "that's the trouble with Sigurd, they don't really die."

"Apparently, neither do you, Sam," Wymond said, he also hadn't moved from his spot since the attack. He knew the Sigurd would lose, he knew if he fought Sam he'd lose as well.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" asked Sam.

"Not like this, no," Wymond said. "I liked you better when you were a good guy."

"Good, bad, who knows anymore? I'm sort of in a grey area right now," Sam replied.

"Or silver," Wymond said, shrugging.

Sam smiled, "My death hasn't changed you at all, I see."

"We don't really die," Wymond said. "We disappear and then come back as we choose; only we don't do what we're doing now. We don't come back from the dead to fight our enemies, we let the living do that. But that really has nothing to do with you now, you aren't a Cetra anymore."

"Why's that? I'm still me," Sam said.

"No, you're something else now," Wymond shook his head. "If you were Cetra you would've returned to the Lifestream when you were taken by the wave of silver. It's kind of amazing we didn't think about it this way before. It's not that you died at all, you just were turned into something else. Jenova's lapdog, perhaps."

"I own this place, Jenova controls nothing about me," Sam growled.

"So she left you a little present, you're still her puppet, just like Sephiroth," Wymond said.

"You said it yourself," Chaos said, suddenly beside Wymond. "There was half of you that felt like Sephiroth. There was also half of you that was still on our side."

"I told you, your side's losing," Sam said, "but you're really still wrong, Wymond. I'm still me, I can still do things I'm supposed to be able to do. I could separate Chaos from tall dark and shadowy right now if I wanted to."

"That's true," Chaos agreed. "I remember you telling me you were capable of that, but it doesn't kill me, in fact you might be doing me a favour."

"You see, Sam, me you can send back to the Lifestream," Wymond said, "Rufus and James you can kill, Cloud even, but Vincent. No, you're stuck with him forever."

Chaos smiled, "Do what you want, but you and I are going to have a long time together, and in that time, I'll make it my personal mission to separate your head from your shoulders."

Sam laughed, "Fine then, I'll just kick you out!"

Sam raised one hand and the silver substance blocking them from space opened up. Sam grabbed Chaos with his telekinetic reach and lifted him upward.

Something else was coming down, however.

A small black object fell and bounced painfully off Sam's forehead, he growled and stepped back, dropping Chaos.

Sam looked down at the object, "What the—?"

It exploded in his face. Sam shot through the air in a storm of fire and shrapnel; he came back down to earth like a meteorite and smashed to the ground.

"Grenade?" asked Chaos.

As if on cue, the Shera uncloaked above them, casting a large shadow over the silver ground beneath, someone hopped off the outdoor platform and landed behind them.

Sam got to his feet and brushed off tattered pieces of clothing that had come loose in the explosion, "I liked this shirt."

Wymond and Cloud looked behind.

Solid Snake stood from a crouched position holding a black automatic rifle; he aimed the M4 Carbine, which Sorin had somehow managed to retrieve for him, at Sam.

"Everyone down!" Snake yelled, and opened fire on Sam. The bullets impacted and knocked him back as they would on any other person, but Sam got back up.

"It won't work," Wymond said.

"I know," Snake growled, reloading the M4, "I'm used to shooting things that don't die right away. I'm also used to shooting things with telekinesis. I got it handled."

"Psycho Mantis," Wymond said.

"What?" Cloud asked.

"Nevermind, get on the ship!" Snake commanded.

"We can't," Cloud replied.

"He's right, if we leave Sam now there's no chance of getting him back," Wymond said.

Snake muttered a curse. He produced another grenade and threw it at Sam; he didn't give it more than a moment of flight time before he shot it in the air with the M4. The bullet exploded the grenade and again sent Sam flying head over heels backward.

"You've got two minutes to come up with something," Snake growled and started walking forward, firing his rifle.

"What're we gonna do?" asked Cloud.

Wymond shook his head hopelessly, "I don't think there's anything we can do."

A few feet ahead, Snake was reloading and began firing again, his plan was to go until he ran out of ammo, and then drag the other two back on the ship. So far, Sam hadn't had a chance to strike back, and that was the only reason Snake was still winning. It was true, he had experience fighting people with otherworldly abilities, but this was something else entirely. He was out of his element.

"Okay, time's up, let's go!" Snake yelled, knowing he was almost out of bullets, and tossed his last grenade, while turning back.

A tentacle holding a sword swooped in from his peripheral vision.

"The hell?" he growled, and dived out of the way just in time to avoid the blade. Snake rolled gracefully back to his feet and emptied the rest of his current magazine into the tentacle. The bullets seemed to take pieces of silver off the creature, much like pieces of skin, but it was resilient.

"Snake, behind!" yelled a female voice from afar.

Snake spun and saw two other identical tentacles coming at him; he wasn't going to have time to move.

Just as the tentacles reached him Chaos blasted by in a streak of crimson, every tentacle in the area fell in half and writhed uselessly on the ground.

"We aren't done yet, you and I," Chaos growled and charged Sam, too fast for the Cetra to react. He smashed into Sam and sent him flying upward.

Chaos let Sam float in the air for a moment before slicing downward with a silver claw and sending him flying back toward the ground. Sam smashed heavily to the earth; Chaos followed right behind and smashed him even further into the ground.

Snake ran back to the others, loading the last magazine into his rifle, "Can he kill it?"

It took Wymond a moment to realize the _it_ Snake was referring to was Sam, "Oh, no, I don't think anyone can. We have to get the part of his consciousness that's on our side to become dominant. We need to make him remember who he is."

"How the hell do we do that?" asked Snake.

Wymond looked at Snake helplessly, "I don't know."

Chaos gave Sam an uppercut and then met him in the air to smash him yet again to the ground. Chaos was dominating, but there was still no way to kill Sam the way he was going.

Sam rolled away and got to his feet raggedly, "You're still talented my friend, but it's not good enough, you can't finish me off like that."

"I'll figure it out," Chaos promised ominously.

"You don't get it, it doesn't matter what you—" out of nowhere a ball of flame blasted him from behind and sent him into the ground again. He staggered to his feet again and looked at his attacker. "That's very rude; I was in the middle of talking to someone."

Phoenix hovered in front of Sam, Tifa and Aeris stood on the Summon's back.

"Samael, I know you can hear me, I know you're in there," Aeris yelled and raised her staff. "It's just a question of what we have to do to get you to remember it!"

Sam grinned, "Quite the turnout from all of you, really, I'm touched."

He noticed Tifa holding the jagged staff that controlled the Summons. He stuck out his hand, "Why don't you hand me that weapon, sweetheart? You use that for too long, it'll kill you."

"If that's what it takes," Tifa replied.

Sam shrugged, "The more the merrier."

He moved forward to attack, and yet again, he was interrupted by an attack from behind. A blast of energy exploded into his back, and then again, once he was on the ground.

Rufus and James stood on either side of Chaos, their secondary weapons fired a second time, continuing to hit Sam while down.

"You can kick my ass all week," Sam growled, "but it won't change a thing, I'm still here."

"It should tell you something," Wymond said, standing calmly in front of Sam, weapon still sheathed. "Doesn't it remind you of who you are? Seeing all these people you know, and fought with, the people you saved countless times, my life included."

"And mine," Sorin said, materializing out of nowhere akin to how the Shera operated.

"Sorin, decided to join this touching reunion I see," Sam said laughing.

"We're here," Aeris said, jumping down from the Summon. "I know you and I didn't get along in the beginning, but you were right all along. I wasn't letting myself know you, just your job, back when you collected the dead for the Cetra. We want you back; don't you want to come back?"

"Back?" asked Sam.

"You're standing here, friend," Sorin said, "but it's not really you."

"You've become a puppet of Jenova, you've heard it a million times, do you believe it yet?" asked Cloud.

"The darkness that consumes you now can be controlled," Chaos said, stepping forward. "It can always be controlled, I know firsthand. I think the question is, why is it you won't let yourself come back? What's keeping you in the employ of Jenova, and not where you belong? I know for a fact, when you find out where you belong, you can live."

Phoenix returned to the staff and Tifa stepped up in front of Sam, "You know we're right, and you know this isn't you. The real Sam wouldn't attack us, his friends, the people he chose to help even though none of us knew him, or understood him. You became this…this shadow of yourself because you saved me from the same fate, you saved the Shera. I wouldn't be strong enough to shake the evil that has you now, but you are, I know it."

Sam seemed as if he was about to fall over, his legs seemed to be giving out.

"Come back, be who you really are, Sam," Tifa said moving closer a putting a hand on the side of his face, this seemed to freeze him in place. "I need you back."

Sam opened a silver-toothed mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sudden kiss from Tifa. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and Sam had to struggle to keep his footing.

"Well, if that doesn't do it, I don't know what will," Sorin chuckled.

Wymond burst out laughing, "The _kiss of life_ so to speak?"

Cloud started laughing, "Beats falling on flowers I guess."

"Hey," Aeris said laughing and pointing at Cloud, "it worked!"

"Ah!" cried Sam, pushing Tifa away, she tripped and fell on her back. Sam staggered away; he had his head in his hands as if trying to pull something from his head. "Go away! Get away from me!"

"It worked," Sorin muttered.

"_GO FUCKING GET ANOTHER PET YOU BITCH!_" Sam yelled, and through the distorted gruff voice, his own recognizable voice emerged. "_You know who I am? I'm a Cetra you freakin' alien, you think I can't screw you up? Eh? Trust me, I'll find a loophole!_"

The silver drained reluctantly from Sam and seemed to flow like water back into the ground, as if afraid of the sound of his screaming voice.

"Fuck off!" Sam yelled, now entirely in his own voice, as he slowly looked up it was clear the silver was gone from him entirely.

He stared at everyone, and everyone looked back silently.

Sam staggered light-headed to the left, "Could someone carry me onto the Shera, 'cause I'm not gonna be able to walk, thanks."

Sam collapsed.


	47. Back of a Train

**Chapter 47**

**Back of a Train**

Sorin Tether paced back and forth across the bridge of the Shera. The attending members had fallen into a trance after watching the Cetra move side-to-side quietly muttering to himself. Much like Sunflowers turning to face the sun, heads turned and followed accordingly when Sorin reached different ends of the bridge.

"Is this gonna be on the test?" asked Sam from the far left of the group.

"I'm thinking," Sorin replied.

"We can see that," Sam said, "but after twenty minutes we, or at least I, have to assume it's getting you nowhere."

"I liked him better when he was evil," Vincent muttered. "He was quieter."

Sam looked past Wymond to lock eyes on Vincent. "Did you enjoy it while I was kicking your ass?"

"At least you weren't talking so much," Vincent retorted.

"Neither were you," Sam shot back, "because I was kicking your ass."

"You got lucky," Wymond murmured.

"Hey, your mom got lucky," Sam quipped.

"Creative," Aeris commented sarcastically.

"Your _mom_ is creative," Sam added matter-of-factly.

"_Alright_!" yelled Snake. Everyone fell silent. "Are we any closer to a new development, do we know anything we didn't know before?"

"Vincent's a loser," Sam provided.

"Sam's a fool," Vincent added.

"Aeris isn't dead anymore?" asked Rufus.

"Nah, that's old," Wymond said.

"Sorry, go on." Rufus gave a wave of his hand.

"So we don't know anything," Sam explained. "Meaning the only thing we managed to deduce is that we still…don't know…anything."

"Call of Duty 4 rules," Wymond said.

Sam and Sorin looked at him.

"Not relevant?" asked Wymond.

"No," Sorin replied.

"Okay, so we know nothing," Wymond concluded.

"Track it," Snake said suddenly.

"Jenova?" asked Sorin.

"The big…silver thing, yeah, that, track it," Snake replied.

"I'm not sure I can, really," Sorin said.

"You talked to it before, you telling me you can't find something floating around in space?" asked Snake.

Sorin looked around at everyone, and then back at Snake. "Uh, well, yes."

"Guys, something's coming through communications," Cid yelled from his position behind the controls of the ship.

"What is it?" asked Sam.

"Fuzzy, I'll clear it up," Cid said, and moments later it was clear.

"Hellloooo, is anybody home? Come in…come in…testing testing…the green light says that the machine is on, but no one is answering. Hello? Are there people there? People?" a soft, almost musical, voice rambled over the speakers. The person on the other end didn't sound particularly…intelligent.

"We hear you," Sorin yelled to cut him off.

"Yay! Someone talked back! Or was that an echo?" the voice questioned itself. "Are you…an echo?"

"Are you…an echo?" Sam said back in an exact imitation of the speaker's voice.

"Damn, it's an echo," the voice muttered.

"Damn, it's an echo," Sam played along, barely holding back a laugh.

"Sam, stop that!" Tifa growled.

"The echoes are talking to me now, I am a little scared," stated the voice.

"We can hear you, we're people on the ship, not echoes," Sorin said with a glare at Sam.

"Now the echoes think they are people," the voice muttered. "They are in denial."

"Dude, we're people, who are you?" asked Sam.

"Okay, I'm going to talk to the echoes," the voice decided. "My name is Caboose, and I am on a mysterious ship, I also have no idea where I am, who are you?"

"Caboose?" asked Cloud. "Back of a train?"

Sorin, Wymond, and Sam looked at each other.

"Paradox," Sam muttered.

"Existence crossovers," Wymond agreed.

"I gather that's bad," Snake murmured.

"Caboose, where's the rest of Blue Team?" asked Sam.

"You know my friends? Is Church there? Are you Church? Is this a joke, because if it is, that was very funny, and I would like to know how you did it so I can use it on my friends…or you…because you are my only friends…if you are Church, I am assuming that you are Church."

"I'm not," Sam replied.

"Oh, okay then," Caboose replied. "Well, person-who-is-not-Church, do you think I could be on your ship now? It is very lonely and dark here, and I do not like the dark, and the flashlight on my suit is broken," Caboose paused. "And a voice keeps saying that the Life Support System will stop working in five minutes, but that was five minutes ago so whatever it is that is supposed to stop working has probably already stopped working."

At least half of the group shook their head, having no idea what exactly Caboose had just said.

"We'll send someone over to get you immediately," Sorin said.

"You are a very nice person, are you Church?"

"Uh, no," Sorin replied. "But I think I know where I can find him."

"Okay, that's good, too," Caboose said.

"We'll see you soon," Sorin said.

"Okay, bye." The communication was cut.

"Okay, what the hell?" asked Cid.

"Red vs. Blue," Snake muttered.

"You might have heard of it, it's something from your existence," Sam said.

"I know of it, but not much," Snake said.

"I'll tell Fox to pick up Caboose, you explain Caboose," Sorin said to Sam.

Sam turned to look at the unknowing members of the group. "Caboose is a member of the Blue Team, sworn enemies of the Red Team."

Blank stares followed.

"Can we get an Xbox in here please?" asked Sam.

"No time," Sorin said, running across the bridge urgently.

Sam sighed. "Caboose is the token 'dumb character' placed in movies and other such entertainment for comic relief. Kinda like Vincent here."

"I will kill you," Vincent retorted.

"What's an existence crossover?" asked Snake, more to the point.

"We've run into it many times," Wymond put in. "It's when things or people from one known existence come to exist in another dimension. We met the Red vs. Blue style Halo existence a while ago, and then it turned into Silent Hill, with the Darkness and all that remember?"

Sam unconsciously put a hand over the eye that had been burned away by acid and then restored afterward.

Rufus Shinra raised a hand. "I'm sorry, maybe I'm behind here, but who's causing this to happen?"

"Not Shinra, for once," Sam murmured.

Rufus looked at him.

"Paradoxes, generally, occur with the appearance of some sort of huge anomaly, something that wants to change the world, all worlds, as we know it," Sorin said, returning to his original position with a little black book in hand. "If you remember your original escapades, the Outcasts would have been the cause for paradoxes. Most notably, the resurrection of the Ancient Black, and of course Cloud and Aeris traveling to the past probably didn't help. I wasn't there, unfortunately, however, it was Sam's department back then."

"I did more work than he did, he just played around with the Summons in that silly staff of his," Wymond laughed.

"You were chasing Aeris around is what you were doing," Sam replied.

"Wouldn't my being here warrant one of these…paradoxes?" asked Snake.

"You're the result of a paradox, as is Fox, and Jenova," Sorin explained. "Let's not forget, the creature we're trying to kill has been defeated before. For that reason, I think we already have the key to killing it."

Sam smiled. "The guy who's pretty much killed every other bad guy."

"Exactly," Sorin agreed.

"Cloud," Vincent guessed.

"Who else, right?" Sam said.

Cloud looked at them in puzzlement. "I have no idea how to even begin to fight this thing."

"Yes, but with the help of your undyingly loyal companions, a bit of angst, a dash of plot twists, and some creative character development, you will of course, in the end, succeed," Sorin said.

Sam looked at Wymond. "There're just no original stories anymore."


	48. Sam's Mission

**Chapter 48**

**Sam's Mission**

Sorin looked blankly at the pages of a small black book. He sat silently on the bridge, reading, analyzing, thinking. The answer was in there, waiting, the book knew all. The book contained all findings and goings on in the universe, and all universes. Somewhere, inside the small book, the solution to their problem would be found. While Sam and Wymond dealt with their new guest, Sorin stared longingly for the answer to their problem.

He found nothing

"Where are you?" Sorin muttered.

"Looking for someone in there?" asked Aeris.

Her voice, soft as it was, still startled him. His head shot up, and he nearly dropped the book.

"Sorry," she said smiling.

"It's alright, I was lost in my reading," Sorin replied.

Aeris took a chair beside Sorin. "If I'm interrupting I can come back later."

"No, of course not, I'm just thinking in useless circles anyway," Sorin closed the book loudly and dropped it on the ground. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine, all this stuff isn't so strange anymore, especially since our enemy isn't anyone new," Aeris replied. "I was just wondering about something."

"And that is?" asked Sorin.

"Vincent was telling me about a story you and Sam told a while back, before you picked me up," Aeris said.

"About Shar and the hunters?"

Aeris nodded.

"What about it?"

"Well," she hesitated, "if Shar really is here to kill me in order to stop Jenova then that mission must have carried on. I mean, this isn't a new thing for him, right?"

Sorin shook his head. "Killing the Cetra entirely has been something Shar intended to do since the beginning. He, like Sam, Wymond, and I, is a traveler of existences, and possesses the same skills, and likely, strengths that we do. He is a dangerous man."

"And he's after me," Aeris added.

"Yes," Sorin said.

"A guy in dark clothing with untold powerful abilities needs to kill me in order to reach his ultimate goal," Aeris muttered.

"I know," Sorin said smiling. "You're probably used to that kind of thing by now."

"Last time didn't work out so well," Aeris commented.

"He's not Sephiroth, my dear, and he'll come nowhere near you, not on my watch," Sorin promised. The sincere conviction in his voice surprised Aeris, and she looked at him. Had she known that he was her grandfather she might not have been so taken aback.

"Thank you, Sorin," she said.

"Of course, I'm sure Cloud has the exact same outlook," Sorin added.

Aeris stood up. "I'll let you get back to what you're doing."

After she was far enough away, Sorin smiled. "It's good to finally meet you."

Just as Sorin was ready to look at his book again footsteps rumbled on to the bridge and drew his gaze. Sam, Wymond, and a fellow in blue armour appeared.

"This is a nice ship, much nicer than the one I was on," Caboose, the blue armoured fellow, commented.

"The one you were on had barely anything left," Wyond pointed out.

"And that is why this ship is nicer, because it is intact," Caboose agreed. "And it smells nice."

Sam sniffed a few times and smelled nothing. "Uh, yeah, I can see why you might think that."

Wymond shrugged at Sam.

"I would like to stay on this nice ship, but I need to find my friends," Caboose said.

"Church, right?" asked Sorin, walking toward him.

"You're person-who-is-not-Church, aren't you?" asked Caboose.

"You recognize my voice," Sorin guessed.

"No, you don't look like him," Caboose said.

"What?" asked Sorin.

"You don't look like Church, therefore you are 'person-who-is-not-Church,'" Caboose said matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I thought…" Sorin looked hopelessly at Sam and Wymond. "My name's Sorin, a pleasure to meet you."

"Sorin, that is much easier to say than 'person-who-is-not-Church' every time," Caboose replied.

"I would imagine it is," Sorin shook his head. "In any case, I think I know where to find Church. You can make yourself comfortable somewhere while we make the trip."

"Thank you, this nice ship has very nice people on it," Caboose watched Snake walk by behind Sorin. "Except for him, he looks kinda scary."

"He's just having a bad day, it happens when you realize you're a clone of a famous soldier from the Cold War, and your other two clone brothers are always trying to kill you," Sam said.

"I know, I hate it when that happens," Caboose agreed.

The three Cetra looked at each other.

"Okay, we're gonna go…do stuff…now," Wymond stuttered.

Caboose thanked them again and wandered off, dangerously close to Vincent Valentine.

"God, I hope he talks to Vincent," Sam said.

"I'd like to hear that conversation," Wymond chuckled.

Sorin laughed in agreement and headed over to Cid, sitting at the ship's controls. "We have a destination my friend."

"'Bout time, let's hear it," Cid said.

Sorin handed Cid his black book and pointed at a page. "Using your maps and navigational devices, I'd like you to get as close to this specific area as possible."

Cid squinted and grabbed the book, getting a closer look. "This might take an hour or two."

"As close as possible, I have much confidence in your navigational skills, of course," Sorin smiled at Cid and then headed back to his original spot. He continued to search the mysterious black book for answers.

"So, where we headed?" asked Sam.

"A Fringe Existence," Sorin replied.

"Again?" Sam said, with a bit of exasperation. "Haven't we done that kind of thing enough?"

"The Fringe Existence where Caboose originates from," Sorin went on. "There we will find Jenova."

Sam nodded. "If we ran into the paradox then Jenova likely did as well. It'll be heading toward that existence, likely to control it."

"I'm worried you may not yet be rid of the parasite, Sam, I'd like it if you stayed away this time," Sorin said suddenly.

Sam's face showed confusion. "Where did this come from? If I'm not silver then the parasite's gone, right?"

"As far as we know, but we don't want to risk losing you to it again. You don't realize what kind of danger we could be in if Jenova possessed you again."

"As dangerous as it would be if it got you, or Wymond, or Vincent," Sam argued.

"You're more powerful than myself, Wymond, or Vincent," Sorin replied. "If we were taken you could destroy us, return us to the Lifestream, we have no such ability. Being the _Grim Reaper_, as you called it, for so many years in the Lifestream makes you a very dangerous enemy to us."

"You know I can't just sit here, dude, I gotta do something," Sam said.

"And I have something for you," Sorin assured him. "I need you to find Shar, and the hunters."

Sam sighed. "You don't think they'll just show up where Jenova is?"

"They don't know where Jenova is," Sorin explained. "I need you to find out what Shar's intentions are, and if they align with our goals, to tell him where we are. He may be able to help us defeat the parasite."

"While you guys, what? Throw rocks at Jenova?" asked Sam.

"Yes," Sorin replied, "essentially, that's exactly what we're doing."

"Alright, where do I find Shar?" asked Sam.

"What makes you think I know?" asked Sorin.

Sam pointed at the black book and said nothing. Sorin smiled.

"He's currently in transit through space, his airship is likely trying to locate the crashed ship we found while searching for you," Sorin explained. "Take Aeris."

"Okay, now you're fucking kidding, right?" asked Sam incredulously.

"No," Sorin replied.

"Shar's looking for her!" Sam exclaimed.

"As far as we know, I think she could talk to him more convincingly than you can, get him to join our cause," Sorin said.

"We're handing her over to the guy who wants to kill her, Sorin."

"That's why I'm sending you, to protect her should he not be persuaded," Sorin replied.

"You're crazy," Sam growled.

"This is not an easy decision, but a necessary one," Sorin said with sincerity.

Sam was silent for a moment. "What if I can't protect her?"

Sorin stared back in another moment of silence. "We will all be doomed by the coming of Jenova should she fail to convince Shar. I doubt it will matter."

Sam shook his head.

"There's no other way," Sorin reiterated.

"Then I'm not going alone," Sam insisted. "I'm taking Vincent and Wymond."

Sorin nodded. "Fair enough, her guardian should go notwithstanding, it is his job."

"I don't know where the hell you're coming from, Sorin, but I hope to hell you're right about this," Sam said, and headed over toward Aeris.

"I am," Sorin murmured. "If nothing else, I'm right about this."


	49. Go Time

**Chapter 49**

**Go Time**

Sam sat in his private quarters on the Shera, staring at the twisted staff that he held loosely in his right hand. The staff that mimicked Summon materia, the staff he had taken from the dead Outcast so long ago. The staff he would need if it came down to fighting Shar and the hunters. It wasn't that he didn't have any faith in Wymond or Vincent, but he knew the staff could do things they couldn't. Chaos was powerful, but if Sam were ever isolated from Vincent and needed to defend Aeris on his own…the staff was necessary.

A knock on the door brought him from his reverie. A voice on the other side called to him but he couldn't quite hear who it was. His mind was still a bit preoccupied, and it took another call from the person to fully draw his attention.

"Come in," Sam said finally.

Tifa entered.

"I heard you were leaving," she said on arrival.

Sam nodded his only response. He realized just then how much he didn't want to do what Sorin asked of him.

"Sounds dangerous," Tifa said carefully, trying to read what he might be thinking.

"Too dangerous," Sam said. "Stupid dangerous."

"Then why are you going?" asked Tifa.

"Sorin's never wrong," Sam said in a voice that sounded disappointed. "In all my years knowing him, he's never been wrong about this kinda thing."

"He could be wrong this time," Tifa offered.

"Yeah, sure, but I like to go with the odds, and if he's right then we can finish this," Sam replied. He looked up at her for the first time. "You trying to talk me out of this?"

"No," she said. "I'm actually glad, because you'll be farther away from Jenova than we will be."

Sam looked at her curiously, but understood a moment later. "You don't think silver was a good look for me?"

Tifa's lack of humour was a clear sign the joke wasn't funny. Sam regretted it a bit, but didn't do anything to convey he did.

Tifa sat down on the bed beside him, he looked at her.

"I can come with you if you want," Tifa offered.

"No," Sam said immediately. "No, you should stay."

Tifa's head tilted slightly. "Really, you think I'll get in your way, huh?"

"No, of course not, you can fight better than I can without a weapon," Sam said defensively.

"So why not, then?"

Sam was silent but continued to look into her eyes, she stared back unflinchingly.

"Because I don't think I can protect you both," Sam almost whispered.

"Who?" asked Tifa.

"I'm going because I need to make sure nothing happens to Aeris," Sam said. "I don't think I can protect both of you."

"You don't need to protect me," Tifa said laughing. "I'll help you protect Aeris."

"I need to focus on Aeris, that's the point," Sam replied.

"Hm," Tifa murmured, and stood up. "I always seem to take a back seat when it comes to Aeris, don't I?"

Sam muttered something inaudible as Tifa started to walk away.

"Wait," Sam said suddenly, he jumped up and grabbed her arm. Instinct told her to grab his and throw him on the ground, but she was far too in control of herself to follow through with that. "You're not hearing what I'm saying."

Tifa turned around and he let go of her arm. "Then say it clearer."

"You're…" Sam paused awkwardly, "…more important."

Tifa looked confused. "You mean in a _future existence purpose_ kind of thing?"

"No," Sam said, and then chuckled. "No, not in a _future existence purpose_ kind of thing. I mean you're more important…to me."

It took a bit of self-control to keep her eyes from widening.

"I know you kissed me. Maybe you just did it to bring me back and separate me from Jenova, maybe you were hoping I'd forget, hoping no one would mention it, it doesn't matter. You brought me back," Sam put a hand on Tifa's cheek, and she flinched slightly. "But I think I loved you before then."

"Sam…" Tifa breathed.

Something slammed against the door and Sam's eyes shot toward the sound. "_Excuse me? I am looking for Sam's room_!"

Caboose's voice was unmistakable, even through the door.

"You found it," Sam replied.

"Oh, good, I had hoped so. Of course, I couldn't see you through the door, so I had to guess, but I'm not sure why I was sent to find you. I get the distinct feeling Vincent sent me to find you so I would stop asking about his questionable attire, because crimson clashes with his choice of footwear, but he might actually want you to go see him anyway. Maybe you can help me teach him how to match clothing while you are there."

"He's been talking to Donut a bit too much," Sam murmured. "Yeah, I'll be right out."

Sam picked up his staff and took a last look at Tifa before heading for the door.

"I'll stay here," Tifa said, "when you go, because it's easier for you."

The statement sounded strained, probably because it was the only words she could think to say at the moment. The only coherent sentence that came to mind.

"Thanks," Sam said, opening the room door. He stopped for a moment, thinking of something else to say, but realized that he too had found the only phrase that he could muster. Sam closed the door behind him.

"I do remember Vincent telling me to tell you that the person you are looking for is on a planet that you need to go to, but I'm not sure if that means anything to you," Caboose informed.

"He stopped, that's unusual, he wouldn't stop without a reason," Sam muttered. "Where's Vincent right now Caboose?"

"The bridge, hiding in that dark corner," Caboose paused for a moment. "That's probably a bad description, everywhere he stands seems to be a dark corner…it's more like where—"

"Yeah, I'll figure it out, don't worry," Sam assured.

Sam found the dark corner of the bridge quickly enough and headed over to see Vincent. "He stopped?"

Vincent turned to Sam with arms crossed and nodded. "Yes, Sorin just tracked him to a planet."

"Any idea why?" asked Sam.

"The only significance I can find is the fact that it is a Mirror World of our own," Vincent said. "At least we can expect familiar surroundings."

"It's an access point to Centre Time most likely," Sam said, "but Rufus mentioned Shar's been to Centre Time already."

"Maybe he has another purpose there," Vincent suggested.

"Only one way to find out, I guess," Sam murmured.

"Our primary mission is to turn Shar to our side, don't forget," Vincent reminded. "His personal plans come second."

"As long as his personal plans don't involve say, the Bane of the Cetra," Sam said.

"A valid point," Vincent conceded.

Sam looked over his shoulder to where Wymond and Aeris were standing. "We should be going. The sooner we do this, the sooner it's done."

"I'm prepared," Vincent assured.

Sam nodded. "Intend on using all your bullets."


	50. The Chief

**Chapter 50**

**The Chief**

"They're gone," Sorin announced to the bridge. Everyone nodded solemnly.

"I really hope you're right about this, Sorin," Cloud said.

"I wish everyone would stop saying that," Sorin muttered.

Silence dominated the bridge.

Cid's efforts to get the Shera to Sorin's desired location finally paid off after a long, awkward, and silent wait. Cid announced his success and immediately threw the Shera into action. They reached their destination in short order.

The planet captured in the forward view screen was oddly shaped.

Ring shaped.

"I've never seen anything like that before," Fox McCloud said in awe, staggering toward the view screen.

"I have," Snake growled, also stepping forward. "In a video game."

"I hate that there're always two people who know what's going on, and we get left the hell out," Cid commented.

"Gentlemen," Sorin said, he paused and regarded Tifa, "and ladies. I give you Halo."

Everyone was silent for what seemed like an almost stereotypical, however necessary, stunned silence.

"Like the video game," Snake said, destroying the blanket of dead air that had settled.

"Exactly, this Fringe Existence mimics that world," Sorin said, and then smiled. "Sam would've loved to see this, I can imagine."

"I'm back," Caboose stated. "Church is down there, and Tucker, this nice ship is very good at finding places."

"Cloud, could you accompany Caboose, Snake, and I down to Halo?" asked Sorin.

Cloud nodded.

Sorin looked to Caboose. "Shall we?"

The Shera pulled in close to the ring planet's surface and dropped off four figures.

"Stay near, but out of sight," Sorin said into his communications device, which connected directly with Cid's control panel on the ship. "Depending how this goes, we may need to leave quickly."

"_Ten four, watch yourselves, I'm getting some big explosions a half-mile to your west,_" Cid warned.

"I know," Sorin replied. "That's where we're headed."

The Shera ascended and then cloaked itself. The airship's position was entirely secret now. It could be floating directly above them, or miles away, not that it mattered.

Caboose walked in between Cloud and Sorin. Snake immediately sprinted ahead, M4 Carbine raised and eyes open. Snake was a bit out of his league as far as technology, but then he had never had any trouble taking on enemies that were out of his league. He disappeared into some foliage for a moment, and then could be seen climbing up over a small ridge.

"_You're gonna wanna see this_," Snake said through his own communication device.

Sorin nodded to the others and they followed him up to the ridge. They saw what Snake saw.

"The Covenant appear to be winning," Sorin commented.

"The aliens, right?" asked Snake.

"Correct," Sorin replied.

Down the ridge, the dead bodies of likely hundreds of dead Marines were visible. Blood was strewn everywhere, along with weapons, and some misplaced limbs. Snake inched down the ridge first, M4 raised and readied, eyes darting with expert caution. As he reached the bottom, Snake took a few crouched steps forward, knelt down, and checked the body of one of the dead Marines.

"Looks like acid," Snake mumbled.

"Acid?" asked Cloud, looking at the same Marine.

Indeed, the wounds on the Marine, by closer inspection, appeared to be large, severe, burns. Burns that passed directly through body armour as if it were never there.

"These don't look like any kind of plasma weapon damage," Snake said. "That's the kind of thing the Covenant use, right? Laser guns."

"It's most definitely acid," Sorin said, talking as if he were putting a puzzle together in his mind. "I believe we're dealing with different, if not equally as popular, aliens."

"It looks like a few were dragged off, look," Cloud commented, indicating long red streaks in the green grass. "Collecting the Marines?"

"I think I know about these, too," Snake said ominously.

"This is looking more and more like the work of a Paradoxer," Sorin muttered. "I think we're not the first to come across this Fringe Existence. An old friend has mixed her two passions."

"Two passions?" asked Snake.

"Science Fiction and Halo," Sorin explained. "What do you know about Aliens, Snake?"

"Just any kind of alien?" asked Snake.

"No, capitalize the A," Sorin replied. "Aliens."

"Like the movie?" asked Snake.

"Like the movie," Sorin agreed.

"Things jump on your face, then things come out of your stomach, they grow into big black things, those Aliens?" asked Snake.

"I can't help but notice the pessimistic tones in your voice," Caboose commented. "Are we in trouble?"

"We need to find the puppet master, I think I know where to find her," Sorin said.

"You know who's doing this?" asked Snake.

"He always knows who's doing what," Cloud said dismissively.

Sorin shrugged. "This is something I've dealt with many times. Caboose, finding your friends is of the utmost importance, you wouldn't happen to remember the last place you saw them?"

"Before I appeared on the not-so-nice-ship…I saw them…near a big silver building. It was big and shiny…and looked like…a building," Caboose described.

"That narrows it down," Cloud muttered.

"Near a strange machine that throws you in the air?" asked Sorin.

"Church called it the _Man Cannon_, but I thought that was a bad name because it implies that women cannot use it, which is wrong, because anyone can use it. It should be called the _People Cannon_."

Sorin had begun to ignore Caboose after _Man Cannon_. "We're not far, Tiara shouldn't be far from there."

"Tiara? The Paradoxer?" asked Cloud.

Sorin nodded. "It also means that Jenova is likely on its way here as well. Time is of the essence."

"Don't you think we—" Cloud was cut off by a sickening noise, almost a crackling sound. Everyone turned toward the noise. One of the dead Marines was moving. It looked as if he was trying to stretch his back, and then more like something was simply pushing his chest upward.

"Oh, shit," Snake growled.

More Marines seemed to start reacting like this. The first Marine to make the noises erupted in a sudden explosion of blood and tissue. A rather large worm-like creature emerged.

"I thought the host had to be alive," Snake muttered.

"I don't think Tiara really cares if she follows the movie's guidelines exactly," Sorin said. The creatures began to burst out of other Marines one by one.

"We should be going now, I think," Caboose suggested.

Sorin reached down and picked up one of the Marines' dropped assault rifles, Caboose followed suit. "Let's be off."

As they began to flee, Sorin managed to grab a grenade off the ground, without losing any momentum, and threw it over his shoulder. He warned everyone of the incendiary weapon just as it exploded behind them, killing a number of the worm creatures.

"I'm just waiting for the Predators to come out," Snake said without humour.

"Let's not rule it out," Sorin replied mid-run, "Tiara likes them as well."

"What are Predators?" asked Cloud.

"Nothing we can't handle," Sorin assured. "Better avoided however."

The four ran non-stop until they were far enough away from the breeding alien creatures. They slowed their run to a walk and continued forward. The building they were looking for wasn't far from their location. Sorin knew this because that's how Paradoxers worked, nothing was particularly inconvenient to find because they liked their dream worlds to be convenient. At least, convenient for them.

Another ridge brought them upward. The other side held for them a steep incline and then a huge open field with only the sought after large grey building standing in the middle. It was a huge construction that appeared to have all sorts of balconies and open platforms. One platform led toward a large construction with a trail of blue energy running through it. That was the Man Cannon Sorin had mentioned.

"That's it," Sorin said. "All is quiet, strange."

"Hey, where the hell's Caboose?" asked Cloud, looking around.

Sorin looked over his shoulder and saw no blue armour. The Red vs. Blue character had disappeared. "I believe our Paradoxer has been interrupted. Her creations have started falling apart. Follow me."

Sorin moved down the incline cautiously, the others following behind. When they finally reached flat ground, Sorin took them through the only open door, leading into the building.

"Tiara!" Sorin yelled suddenly, giving Cloud and Snake a bit of a start. Sorin's voice echoed off into the nondescript foyer. "She must still be alive, the building still stands."

Sorin hurried forward and toward two double doors. Snake wanted to ask how Sorin knew where he was going, _if_ he knew where he was going, but decided to follow silently instead. The double doors opened to a stairwell. They moved up one flight and then entered into another blank grey hallway.

Streaks of blood moved along the floor all the way down the hall, and curved around a corner. A large gash was also visible along the left wall. Likely made by a claw or large blade.

"What the hell?" Snake asked in awe.

"Something's wrong," Sorin stated, raising his procured assault rifle. "Be at the ready."

Cloud drew his blade and Snake leveled his own rifle. Sorin moved just as quickly, but more cautious. He moved like Snake when he was scouting. It even surprised Snake a little, as he recognized just how adept Sorin appeared to be. The Cetra stopped at the corner where the blood trail turned, and he flattened himself against the wall. Noises emanated from around the corner.

Sorin signaled Cloud and Snake for silence. They froze in place. Sorin slowly inched around the corner, barely putting a quarter of his face around to look.

From Cloud's, and Snake's, point of view, it looked like some sort of lightning bolt that struck the corner Sorin peeked around. Whatever it was, the attack barely missed Sorin directly. The impact of the attack on the wall instead sent the Cetra sailing head over heels toward Cloud, who managed to grab and steady him before he actually hit the ground. A large piece of the wall's corner was missing; it looked like some creature had taken a bite out of the wall.

"What was that?" asked Cloud.

Sorin staggered back and blinked quickly a few times, as the bright flash of the attack had temporarily blinded him. "We need to go."

"Who did—" Cloud began to ask, but was interrupted by gunfire from Snake.

The M4 Carbine jumped as Snake fired steady bursts at the figure that rounded the corner. The bullets seemed to hit solid metal as they got close to the man. Small sparks showed where the bullets seemed to connect with the air and ricochet away. Snake stopped firing and looked at his target curiously.

"What the hell are you?" asked Snake.

The figure staring back at him appeared unfamiliar. Sorin and Cloud knew him, however.

"You _again_?" complained Sorin, stepping up beside Snake. "What manner of fuck up allowed for you to walk freely again, I wonder?"

Sephiroth made no reply.

"Not talkative, that's not like you," Sorin said.

"I'm a different man than you think. I just thought this would get your attention," Sephiroth replied in a voice that wasn't Sephiroth's. "Of course, I wasn't thinking of you, Snake. I apologize."

Sephiroth seemed almost to melt away, as if the skin was being melted from his bones, along with the clothing, and another person stood in his place. He had white hair in a ponytail and a moustache, sported two revolvers holstered to his hips, and a rather cocky smile. "A friendlier face for you."

"Ocelot," Snake muttered, but shook his head. "You can't…"

"Shape shift?" asked Ocelot. "But I can have a multiple personality problem because I had an arm transplant? That's more likely, is it?"

Sorin looked at Snake. "The man makes a good point."

Snake was too confused to reply.

"And Cloud, maybe this is better for you," Ocelot said, regarding Cloud. And the Ocelot skin melted and gave way to pink clothing and a more feminine form. Aeris stood in front of them now. "Better, Cloud?" Ocelot's voice became Aeris's.

Cloud glared. "Who the hell are you?"

"The real me? I don't know anymore, I love all these other people so much, I just started becoming them. _Me_ is such a binding thing," Aeris said. Aeris's skin melted and the shape shifter then took on the form, and voice, of Sam. "However, I know all there is to know about you."

"So what can we call you then?" asked Sorin conversationally. "Other than shape-shifter-dude?"

Sam smiled and then began to change again. When the shift was done, a green armoured figure stood before them. Snake and Sorin knew him to be the Master Chief from Halo games. "You can call me The Chief, if you like, it's my current favourite form to take."

"Okay, Chief," Sorin said. "Where's Tiara?"

"The Paradoxer?" asked Chief. "You've been following her blood, she's dead."

"How is all this still intact, then, without her?" asked Sorin.

"Well, now there's something you know about me," Chief said with a chuckle.

"You're no Paradoxer," Sorin said.

"Aren't I?" asked Chief. "You seem so sure, and yet I do what a Paradoxer can do. I can even mimic another Paradoxer exactly."

"Paradoxers don't—" Sorin was interrupted by a loud rumbling noise. It sounded like a large object ready to come crashing down on the building.

"It appears Jenova has arrived," Chief said. "And my cue to leave as well. I really hope this wasn't a one way trip for you, it was so nice seeing you again, Sorin."

The Spartan impostor was gone. Not with any sort of fanfare, he disappeared in such a way that suggested he might never have existed in the first place.

"What the hell?" asked Snake. Feeling as he did a long time ago, when he first encountered Psycho Mantis's ghostly figure on Shadow Moses.

"I don't know who that was, but I think we finally have met our true enemy," Sorin said. The world shook around them again, Sorin looked skyward, imagining Jenova's appearance because all he could see was a blank grey roof.

"Is he the Bane of the Cetra?" asked Cloud.

Sorin looked down and back at Cloud. "He certainly fits the description."


	51. The White Rabbit

**Chapter 51**

**The White Rabbit**

Nibelheim looked the same as it always had been, but that was to be expected. The place was a Mirror World of the world Vincent once lived in, would still be living in if nothing had gone to hell as it had. Vincent, Wymond, Sam, and Aeris stood in a line, staring silently at Cloud's hometown.

Mirror Worlds, as a rule, always had some sort of switch-up. It was never a perfect reflection, the universe didn't allow for such things. The people within, or how society ran, was always different somehow. Normal for those who existed there, but radically different for those who came from another existence, but so far everything was the same.

"No indication our hunter friends have arrived," Wymond commented, breaking the silence.

"Good, time to look around," Samael said. "Shall we?"

The quartet arrived at the entrance to Nibelheim minutes later, and entered curiously. The place was a bit more bustling than Vincent or Aeris ever remembered it being. People wore the same clothing, and looked the same as the people who would've inhabited the Nibelheim they knew. There just seemed to be a commotion that was incongruous to the norm of the town.

"Who's giving away free stuff?" quipped Sam.

"There's a larger concentration of them over by that building," Vincent pointed out. Indeed, there appeared to be a large group forming near one of the brick buildings.

"Aeris and I are gonna take a look around the Inn, you two see what's going on over there," Sam said. Vincent and Wymond nodded and headed over.

"A lot of people are coming out of the Inn," Aeris noted. "Whatever's over by that building must be interesting."

Sam opened his mouth to respond but a violent shove almost knocked him forward, and off his feet. He just barely regained stable footing and spun on the person who he suspected assaulted him.

A small man, who looked almost an unhealthy pale shade of white, with small round glasses, and white clothing that nearly matched his skin tone. He had beady, dark brown, eyes that Sam could barely make out through the glasses. The man didn't appear to have paid any attention to running into Sam. The man knelt down hurriedly and scrabbled to pick up some dropped items. He mumbled some words under his breath, and he was very short breathed as it was, it sounded like a mixture of heavy breathing and mumbling. The strange man gathered the last of his dropped items, and scurried past.

"Yeah, it's okay, no problem," Sam yelled after him sarcastically.

"He was in a hurry," Aeris said.

"No shit," Sam muttered.

"He was late," Aeris said. "For what, I wonder?"

"Late?" asked Sam.

"Didn't you hear what he was saying, he repeated it twice," Aeris replied.

"All I heard was panting," Sam said.

"He was saying it under his breath, poor guy looked exhausted."

Sam looked across the massing of people and tried to find the little man in the crowd. "What'd he say?"

"Something along the lines of being late for a very important date," Aeris said. "Something like that."

Sam shrugged. "Probably going to see whatever everyone is…"

Aeris looked at Sam curiously when he trailed off mid-sentence. "What's wrong?"

"Late for a very important date," Sam murmured. "Aeris, did he say it like 'I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date,' like that?"

"It sounded like that, yes, why?" asked Aeris.

"Ah, fuck you Alice," Sam growled.

Aeris thought she heard him say _Aeris_ instead of Alice, and looked at him indignantly. "What?"

"The White Rabbit," Sam said, as if that should mean something to her.

"What?" asked Aeris, still confused.

"Doesn't matter, Wymond and I are about to catch a recurring pattern," Sam said. "I know what all the commotion is about now."

Aeris was still confused, and could only stare blankly.

"Invitation to the Tea Party," Sam growled. "This is gonna get fuckin' weird."

"Sam, _Sam_, dude, we got problems!" Wymond yelled, sprinting back, Vincent in tow.

"Alice in Wonderland," Sam said.

"Shit, you know?" asked Wymond.

"I just saw the White Rabbit," Sam replied ominously.

"Jesus, Paradoxer?" asked Wymond.

"Could be, sometimes these things just happen," Sam shrugged. "Literature and creativity seep into the Lifestream and manifest themselves into twisted versions of themselves, imposing themselves on other existences. Mirror Worlds are especially susceptible to that kinda thing."

"Sorin didn't even consider this," Wymond said worriedly.

"Nobody did, Shar probably hasn't either," Sam said logically. "We might be able to use our surroundings to put him on his heels."

"Can I interrupt?" asked Vincent suddenly.

Sam and Wymond looked to their cloaked companion.

"What are you talking about?" asked Vincent deadpan.

"It's way too hard to explain Alice in Wonderland to you right now, just follow our lead," Sam assured him.

"Tea Party's open invitation," Wymond said.

"And the Queen of Hearts?" asked Sam.

"Referred to as the Red Queen," Wymond replied.

"It's usually something like that, she's Shinra I'd bet," Sam said.

"There's no Queen of Midgar, but the President of Shinra is pretty much just that," Wymond commented.

"The President of Shinra is a woman?" asked Vincent.

"It fits, Queen of Hearts can't be a man, bet she's a mean one, too," Wymond said.

"She usually is," Sam muttered.

Aeris shook her head. "What do we do, then?"

"Off to Midgar, play some Flamingo Croquet perhaps?" Sam smiled.

Wymond chuckled, and Vincent and Aeris appeared left out of the joke once again. However, used to being in the dark, they simply followed Sam and Wymond out of Nibelheim, trusting they knew what they were doing. They usually did.

The entrance to Midgar, which usually required a key, was oddly left open. Though the entry was still guarded, people were entering in droves.

"One crowded tea party," Wymond said.

"There's more to it than that, I'm sure," Sam said.

"I'm late, _I'm late_!" cried a squeaky voice as the little white man with glasses charge by at a sprint.

"White Rabbit?" asked Aeris.

Sam nodded to Wymond, and then gestured to the entrance to Midgar. "The rabbit-hole."

"No fun if we don't go down, right?" asked Wymond.

Sam turned and headed toward Midgar, or the _rabbit-hole_, with a grin. "_Aeris_ in Wonderland…cute, very cute."


	52. Queen of Spades?

**Chapter 52**

**Queen of Spades?**

The huge crowd bustled forward as one, like a single organism, a big, loud, single organism. The only inconsistency appeared in the form of a hole in the crowd of people. A space of about four feet was given to Vincent Valentine, as everyone seemed intent to give him a wide berth. Sam, Aeris, and Wymond took cover inside the circle and used Vincent's apparent repulsive disposition to avoid the crowd. They followed the mass of people to their destination, becoming a part of the flow even though they seemed disconnected from it.

Shinra soldiers in their usual blue uniform stood on either side of the milling crowd, mostly on rooftops to avoid trampling. The only difference between these soldiers and the ones back at Centre Time—that Sam could see, anyway—was the small red symbol of a heart emblazoned on the shoulder of every soldier.

"Queen of Hearts?" asked Wymond, gesturing to the heart symbol.

"Makes sense," Sam agreed.

They followed the crowd, unable to tell which Sector of Midgar they might be in at the time through the wall of people. Suddenly, the people seemed to spill out into a huge space that could suddenly contain their presence. It was a place that none of the quartet had ever seen in Midgar before. It appeared to be a huge, fancy, green, garden.

"Geez," Wymond muttered, looking around at the serene landscape.

"Where'd the fuckin' field come from, dude?" Sam said through a chuckle.

"Flowers, look," Aeris said, excitedly pointing at the ground. "There are flowers growing in the grass!"

"I didn't think that was possible," Vincent commented.

"It isn't," Sam said. "Unless the Lifestream runs under these grounds like it did under Aeris's church."

"Speaking of which," Wymond pointed across Sam's line of sight to the aforementioned structure. "They fixed it up."

The church Aeris and the others remembered was completely different here. It looked like some serious renovations had been done, and most notably, it was now white. The dull, dark, construct that Aeris had frequented, and Cloud had fallen into, was now a shining white building that sparkled in sunlight.

Sunlight?

"The sun," Wymond said suddenly. "Wait, if that's Aeris's church, then shouldn't we be in the Slums?"

"No upper platform," Sam murmured. "Strange."

"Midgar without the city in the sky?" asked Aeris in confusion. "It's hard to believe there can be anything evil about that."

"With Shinra in the mix," Vincent said, "I'm sure they'll find a way."

Amongst the flowers and unrealistically green grass, there appeared to be a large, stereotypical, maze constructed of large hedges. A grand looking golden gate, with an unusually large lock on it, blocked the entrance to the maze. As well, another brilliant white building stood straight ahead. It was about twice the size of Aeris's church, and it wasn't a construct any of them recognized from Centre Time Midgar. This building was built more like a castle, and had a large balcony with ornate decoration all over it.

"Queen's house," Wymond said. "I'd put money on that."

Suddenly, but not unexpectedly, the sound of trumpets blaring brought everyone's attention to the balcony.

"Always trumpets," Sam muttered. "Just once, I want someone to enter on saxophones or something."

Aeris smiled.

Four Shinra soldiers in unusual white armour appeared first on the balcony. Their helmets were fancier, more like that of knights than soldiers. Also, they had different symbols on their armour than the others. Regular footmen appeared to have hearts, whereas these four knights—and they appeared more like knights than soldiers—each had a different black chess piece on their armour. One had a Knight, the second had a Rook, the third was a Bishop, and the final and oddly more important looking one appeared to have a King.

"White Knights," Sam muttered.

"Talking backwards," Wymond replied.

"Red Queen says off with her head," Sam continued.

"_Remember what the Dormouse said_," Wymond said in a singsong voice.

Aeris and Vincent looked at the two Cetra.

"Jefferson Airplane, White Rabbit, look it up on Limewire" Sam said. "After I explain to you what Limewire is…forget it."

They forgot about it.

Each of the white knights, who Sam named according to their chess piece, broke into pairs and stepped aside. Two to the left and two to the right, in order to make room for the main event: a woman took her place in between the pairs of knights. Sam noticed King, the one with the King chess piece, seemed to stand a bit closer to the woman than the others.

As for the woman, she was the exact opposite of what Sam and Wymond expected. She wasn't wearing red, nor was there any indication of her disposition toward hearts. In fact, she wore black. The attractive woman's nondescript dress was entirely black, along with her hair, and as it seemed, her eyes.

"That's not the Queen of Hearts," Wymond said.

"Spade or a Club, if we're going by colour," Aeris commented.

"She looks like you Wymond," Sam said, looking at the guardian. "She looks like a guardian."

Wymond scrutinized the woman as she began to talk to the amassed group of people below. "I guess so, but that's not possible, why would a Cetra be playing games like this?"

"Maybe she's bored," Sam guessed.

"_The reason that you all have been invited here will become clear soon enough_," the woman announced in a piercing voice that seemed to draw attention. "_But first, you are welcome to enjoy my gardens for the day. Please, spare no expense, have fun!_"

That seemed to be all anyone needed to hear, they let out a cheer and scattered in different directions. The crowd dispersed and scattered, leaving the quartet to stand alone in the garden, still staring up at the balcony.

"What's our next move?" asked Vincent.

"Miss Queen of Spades, or whoever she is, is bad news, that's all I know," Sam said.

"I doubt we'll be able to get inside the castle without anyone noticing," Vincent said. "Maybe we should wait to see where this party goes."

"You three do your thing, blend in," Sam looked at Aeris. "Be Aeris in Wonderland. I'm gonna take a look at the other side of the castle."

"Be careful," Aeris said.

Sam headed toward the closest corner of the building. "Chessy Cat, Wymond."

Wymond nodded his understanding, and Sam disappeared around the corner of the castle.

"Chessy Cat?" asked Aeris.

Wymond nodded and smiled an exaggerated smile. "Chessy Cat."


End file.
